The Fall REDUX
by Jeggetts4.0
Summary: After failing the summoning ritual, Louise is transported to an old an battered world, full of suffering and conflict. War never changes, but people do. As the world changes her, Louise wonders about her future, the people she meets, and the impact she is to have on this world.
1. Prologue: Alone

Louise opened her eyes to an overcast sky, though it still hurt her eyes a little when she did, and she felt dirt beneath her hand as she closed it in surprise at the revelation she was lying on the ground. She quickly began to get up in embarrassment at her predicament, but soon realized she didn't hear any laughter from her classmates from her explosion.

Well good, she thought. She didn't know what she summoned but she knew it had to be something magnificent! It made her classmates go quiet with awe after all! Yes, that was it! She quickly scramble to her feet to behold her familiar. But when she finally did, she gasped in shock and began looking around frantically, her heart rate increasing.

She wasn't in the courtyard anymore. Her classmates were gone, the Academy was gone, the very vegetation as far as her eyes could see was gone. A sudden breeze sending dirt onto her uniform accentuated this facet. The land around her was completely foreign and despite her state she looked at it in a bit of awe.

The land was the most sickly shade of brown she had ever seen. She never was one for the color herself but something about this just felt… wrong to her. Like something had poisoned the land around her, for the only trees she had seen were dead, the trunks blackened and branches empty of leaves. It just served to amplify the sheer emptiness of this land that now surrounded her.

Her hands began to tremble and her breathing became faster. Where was she!? What happened!? She began turning in all directions, her fear and desperation rising.

No… no! This wasn't real! This… this was… this was just… just a dream! That was it! She was knocked unconscious and she was in the infirmary, yet to wake up!

She closed her her eyes, even with the sun behind the clouds she still saw red through her closed eyelids, and when she opened them she would be awake.

She opened them only to find the barren landscape before he still there, taunting her.

She closed them again. Then opened them again. And again. And again. She tried six more times, moisture becoming more prominent each time in her eyes as she did.

She tried again, keeping them closed far longer than any previous attempts, holding her wand close to her chest with both trembling hands.

She was alone still. She couldn't stop herself from falling to her knee's, ignoring the pain of the rocks she had landed on through sheer despair. The tears were running down her face and she was hyperventilating and her hands threatened to snap her wand in half. She choked out a few sobs. Her tears fell into the dry dirt of the desert.

She was alone.

She stayed that way for a while longer. The tears stopped eventually, but her eyes remained sore.

She had to find a way back home. She knew that. The question was how? The only clue as to her location was this being a desert and the only desert she knew of was Rub a Kali. But that meant she was in elven territory then! The enemies of man and Brimir. The fact alone nearly made her faint. She couldn't even manage one spell without it exploding. That might help her sometimes, but against elves, who could challenge even their Founder, it would be a short battle not in her favor if she was ever found by them.

But even then, she was hardly an experienced outdoors man. That was more Cattleya's expertise.

Her thoughts abruptly halted as they passed over her sister. Louise flinched as if struck.

Cattleya... how would she react to news of her disappearance? She... Oh Founder... what was she doing? Sitting here sobbing? What would that accomplish? delaying her time to get home, that's what! And more time for her sister... She shook her head clear of a painful image in her head, a determination welling up inside her.

She picked herself up from the ground and brushed the rocks and pebbles that stuck to her leggings off and tried to start on her journey back. She had to.

But how? She didn't even what direction north was. She certainly didn't want to wander deeper into Elven territory. The clouds still covered the sky, irritatingly cloaking the suns position. She knew enough to realize that simply looking at it's position in the sky would tell her what direction to start walking. If that were an option.

Regardless, she still felt like she should find some shelter. She didn't know what creatures she could expect to run into in the desert. Hopefully her explosions would be enough for them. But founder help her if she should run into the elves...

With fear of the danger that lay ahead, uncertainty of her true next actions, and despair threatening to take her fully, she began her journey, leaving a solitary trail of footprints in the vast desert.

...

* * *

She didn't know how long she walked. Well that wasn't true. She had walked long enough for her legs to get sore and began feeling the oncoming thirst that she knew was rapidly approaching problem. And she also started experiencing one of the many mundane irritants of being outside for an extended period of time. She was sunburned. She had held her cloak over her as best as she could to keep the sun of her her, but it wasn't enough apparently as her legs, face and hands all began to turn red. It was't that surprising. She wasn't used to being outside for extended periods at all. Though she had more than a few passing thoughts to scream obscenities at the clouds for keeping her from getting proper bearings but doing sweet founder all to help her against the sun.

And may Founder damn it for being strong enough to do this behind clouds!

Regardless she pushed on into the unknown. She thanked the Founder several times over that she had not encountered any hostile wildlife in the time she had walked. Though it did little to lift the sense of sheer isolation she felt. She hadn't seen anything other than the occasional bush or dead tree to prove that _anything _has called this desert home in some time. And she couldn't shake the feeling that something about this place felt off. Like it was unnatural. Not the land itself, but _something _about it. It just felt _too _dead_. _Deserts she felt, just shouldn't have this level of just plain emptiness to them, both in animal and plant life.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she tripped over something and was sent to the ground in a heap. Although a bit painful, when she got a good look at the offending object a sudden flurry of emotions shot through her body.

It was a road! People have been here! That was bad news for her. But upon closer inspection she realized that the road was partially covered in dirt and sand and was visibly cracked. Doubtful that the elves had used this for travel in some time. Well she had something now. She could either continue on the direction she was heading or take her chances with the road. Neither really appealed to it, for though it showed signs of disuse, but that wasn't a guarantee of her being safe. But neither was any direction either. For all she knew, she was literally a few steps from finding a hidden elf village and her demise from a bunch of vengeful desert folk.

She bit her lip. She just didn't know to do!

Well actually that wasn't true. She needed to find shelter for the night. The overcast sky was starting to turn orange. Night was approaching and she'd rather not spend the night out in the open. She knew that much at least.

Scanning up and down the road, she spotted something in the distance. A building. A small building a fair ways a way in the distance. Well... there didn't appear to be any Elves around, yet. And it was the only the building around. It would have to do.

But before she could start walking towards it she began hearing a buzzing sound. Already feeling shivers crawling up her spine from the sound alone, she turned around to face her first encounter in this place.

Four large absolutely disgusting bugs flew towards her, their wings still making that horrid noise. Their over sized abdomens visibly jiggled which nearly throw up on the spot. She always hated bugs and these things, as dangerous as they probably were, took all of her willpower, both mundane and magical, to keep from throwing up. Gah, for once she was glad she had only explosions at her disposal.

She was about ready to launch a simple fireball spell at them when suddenly the lead one hovered in midair and pointed... something on it's torso and suddenly let out another something that warranted her dodging to the side lest it become a painful something.

She felt the projectiles tear and punch through her cloak, angering her at the destruction from her only protection from the sun. As best as she could on shaky legs from the sudden adrenaline. She backed up from the creatures, trying to get out of range of their projectiles. She aimed her wand at the group and let out a quick spell.

"Fireball!" She shouted, her first true words spoken since the summons spell, and it launched forth. She knew it would likely only make an explosion, but frankly, anything that got rid of these things would be a Founder send. Sadly the things seemed to possesses big enough brains to doge... well most of them. Three of them dodged while the fourth was hit directly and suddenly there was no more disgusting bug. There was only disgusting bug parts, one of which landed right on one of her shoes, the piece of flesh staining it with gooey green blood. Though in a stroke of good fortune she felt would become a rarity, pieces of the bug propelled by the explosion managed to cut off the wings of another bug creature causing it to drop to the ground in what she hoped was agony, as it flopped around rapidly churning up dirt. Another one of the bugs was killed when what looked like a piece of the needle launcher impaled in it's abdomen causing ti to fall to the ground completely still.

With only one still a true threat, Louise took aim again. It proved to be a bit smarter, it dodged her attacks twice more before she finally managed to kill it. It exploded like the one before it, causing another piece, irritatingly, to land on her other shoe. She kicked the offending gore off and decided to take out her rage on the last wingless one still screeching and flopping around. She marched forward... only to immediately start retracting.

Another bug had appeared behind the scene of violence and Louise actually had a reference for this one. It was a scorpion. A much, much larger version of one than she was used to however. It was a brown and yellow coloring and it skittered along towards the once flying bug. With a cruel snap of it's pincers it cut the smaller creature free of it's needle shooting appendage near it's bottom, it's screeching increasing in pitch, and then the scorpion stuck the bug with it's tail stinger. The bug began convulse violently, but before long Louise saw it's struggles get smaller and smaller before petering out completely.

The scorpion seemed to glance at the pink haired human before it, but it's primal instincts cared only for the fresh food laid out before it. It began tearing off pieces of the creature and using it's mandibles to begin chewing it's meal.

Louise had not witnessed much more of that. For she had taken off running towards the building, her tattered cloak and sore legs completely forgotten. Sun, thirst and Elves be damned, she was going into that building and she might never come back out!

It was still further away than she would have liked even with how fast her legs and fear pushed her. She approached eventually and by then the adrenaline rush was wearing off and her legs had felt heavier than they ever had in her life. She pushed herself forward on fear alone and eventually made it to the strange building. Amazingly she could actually read the words on the front but whatever they meant were lost on her. What in founders name was a 'Gas Station?" It didn't mater completely to her mind overwhelmed as she only glanced at it before bursting trough the front door.

It came open far easier than she expected it to and it closed just as easily as she slammed it back shut, creaking loudly all the way both times. She backed away from the door in fear of anything that might have been right behind her without her knowing about it ready to snatch her. She stared it for a few seconds longer before she nearly slapped herself for idiocy. She hadn't even checked if this place was safe yet! Turning on her heel she faced the interior of the building. It was dark, that much was apparent, all the windows seemed to be boarded up letting an increasingly orange light leak through in rays. The room she was in was rather small only having a counter some odd looking shelves across from it.

The was however an adjacent room that filled her with dread. She couldn't see into it. Her hands severely trembling now she approached with wand drawn. She clamped on the handle, slowly she opened it and gasped a what came out.

It was a bathroom. Well, that was her guess. A closed off room with a with an odd looking toilet with a most foul smelling liquid emitting a rancid aroma.

She quickly closed the door. She had a feeling 'most foul' was going to be coming up a LOT during her time here. Regardless she confirmed this place held only her. And now that she had, she then set to dragging a heavy looking... something. She didn't know exactly except it had a glass cover on the top over long spoiled of that she guessed was food. It was a bit of a process, but when she was done, it was blocking the door.

She didn't care how hard it was. The door was blocked and that was all that mattered.

The sun outside was nearly gone now, and she realized she had nothing to do but go to sleep. She choose a place in the far corner behind an overturned shelf and propped herself in it. She had a good view of the door from her, but she couldn't shake the feeling of vulnerability with her back to the wall. She kept imagining that scorpion using it's stinger to stab right through the wall and impaling her. She nudged herself a little ways from the wall.

She sat in the corner away from the wall, not even a full day and already her clothing was damaged and stained and she had nearly died to something shooting needles out of it's butt!

This was her first day in the land and she knew it would take her a vast amount more to find her way back home.

She hugged herself in the dark as she heard what sounded like something howling in the night outside. It was a chilling sound that worked in tandem with the cool of the night to send shivers down the girls spine. She had already seen what was out there and it terrified her. What she hadn't seen out there terrified her more.

She began wondering how news of her disappearance would affect everyone. By now, she was sure news of her disappearance had gotten to her family. How would they react she wondered. She wasn't one to deny that sometimes she had... differences with them sometimes, but still. They were family. Mother and father would no doubt be devastated. They had always worried about her with regards to her magic, even considering having her get married into a powerful family just to ensure her safety and comfort. But she persisted in her attempts... she was starting to regret that immensely. Or maybe they might hire someone in an attempt to track her down... she really hoped they wouldn't be duped by con artists in their desperation.

Her eldest sister, Eleanor... well to be frank, Louise always did think she was a bit of a 'female dog' as Cattleya had politely told her, but then again, Louise herself could be one just as much. And she didn't forget the times where she helped study magical theory. Regardless of how Louise could feel about her, there was no denying she only lasted to the summoning ritual, an entire year through her sheer knowledge alone.

And Cattleya... Louise's stomach took a dive when she realized how her favorite sister would take this. The sister who would always listen to her, who would comfort her with a snuggle when things got tough. It was painfully easy for Louise to imagine her crying her eyes out. That was assuming they didn't just presume her dead even. Not even a body to bury for them...

She had 'known' about her situation before, but now, sitting alone in this dusty building with threats all around her, no clear direction of where to go, no one to even help her, nothing to distract her... the cold reality that was staring at her the entire time suddenly hit her in full force. And she began to crumble, choking out a few sobs. The only thing keeping from outright sobbing was the fear of what the noise it would attract. That is if her explosions from earlier didn't already alert every elf in the vicinity, but then again if it did they would have been here by now.

However, even in the midst of her own personal problems, she was also vaguely aware of another sensation going on in her body. She never noticed it before, but she suddenly realized that she it still felt like she was in the sun. Not just her sunburned parts, but her entire body had an overall warm feel to it. Even as the cold of the night began to set in fully, she still felt a dull warm all over her. It was an odd sensation, but in her state, it was just another 'thing' on the suddenly very long list of 'things' on her mind. The feeling stayed with her until she was finally able to drift off into a light fearful sleep, the entire day finally granting her a small mercy.

So, I was told getting an account for this site was easy... hah! Had one hell of a time getting myself in. Regardless, here is the prologue of The Fall, my own attempt at a Reverse Summons. R&R, , and the next chapter should be up soon enough...

* * *

**I have returned! A whole lot later than I intended... bleh. **

**Long story short,** **I got locked out of my old account, rest assured I am the original Jeggetts, and thus can't update that story anymore. So... We start all over again... but at least I have a new chapter out now. Even if we have a lot to go to get to it.**

**I'll be updating this story every three days, to give people time to catch up. **


	2. Arc 1: A Clean Face I

**Arc I: A Clean Face**

* * *

Louise woke to a soreness encompassing her entire body and a mind that did not get proper rest the night before. The sleep was not as peaceful as she originally hoped. She kept waking up periodically before trying to scan the room with nothing but dull cloud hidden moonlight invading through boarded up windows. And every attempt to get back to sleep in the cold, her teeth chattering somewhat not helping, just seemed to sap whatever energy she got out the abysmal sleep. Sadly, that perpetual warmness only served to annoy her and not actually keep her comfortably warm at all.

She was on the cusp of falling over to her side when she realized that the sun had risen, at least enough to fill the room with a yellow glow. It also served to remind her of all the dust she was breathing in as she watched particles float around in the light. She slowly picked herself up, feeling far weaker than she ever had before. She'd had to cram in a lot of studying for tests before, but this… it felt like her strength was literally being sucked right out of her. Then again, maybe it was the fact she hadn't eaten anything or had any water to drink for quite some time. Her dry lips accentuating that last part.

Or maybe it was the sunburns. Founder knows they started to kick in now. Her hands and face and thighs were all aching, her red tender skin giving her silent but painful protests with every movement. The process of simply getting to her own two feet felt like a weight had settled over her entire body.

She managed however and now with adequate light, and her attention no longer clouded by panic or shock anymore, she finally took in the building she was in in all it's odd and dilapidated glory.

The building she was in had been abandoned for quite some time, that much she knew. In hindsight, had she gotten a good enough look at the building she probably would have stayed out for fear of it coming down on her head. The architecture wasn't much to look at either. Simple looking stone floors and walls and it was a boxy utilitarian in nature. Other than a few long torn and faded posters on the all there wasn't a lively color to be found.

It was dull and unlike she had personally imagined them building. She'd always imagined the elves having some sort of elegance to their buildings. For all their hostility, a part of her did want to learn about them, at least a little. She could bring back something about their enemy after all, do something that would make this expedition more than a monumentally terrifying waste of her time.

But if dusty buildings were all she could report on, she shouldn't even bother. The bugs were more interesting. Cattleya would probably have gotten a kick out them. Maybe even could have tamed them… Catt…

Her breath hitched, and her eyes threatened to be more of a drain on her depleting hydration. She stopped herself.

No. She couldn't think about shook her head. She needed concentrate at the task at hand. Namely continuing on her journey back home. Finding out what way was north was paramount, even if she did feel more than a small amount of hesitation going back outside.

A rumble in her stomach and the sudden realization of just how dry her mouth was. Food and water. That too, was a problem. It always was, even yesterday, but it must have been the shock of… everything that made her put those things aside. Now however, she was starting to feel another pain in her stomach from the lack of food, and if she were to wander the desert again it was hardly something she could go without.

With not much choice, and the hunger ironically fueling her, she began her search for something to eat in this building. Unlikely maybe given how long this looked to be abandoned, but so was being able to walk for any respectable amount of time on an empty stomach. It was a small chance, both that she would find anything of value and that it would be edible, but judging from the barren land she had witnessed yesterday, small chances might very well what sustained her through this trek. She started with the shelves in the center of the room. Not much as was expected even just at a glance. A few more thorough searches underneath them yielded nothing of note either. She then headed over to the counter area and went behind it searching the nooks and cranny and cupboards.

After more than a few spiders, of which she noted were bigger than she was used to, and their presence nearly causing her to vomit. She really hated spiders.

She kept looking and was eventually rewarded with something. A small box sat tucking away in one of the cupboards.

Sugar bombs? What in Founders name was that? It wasn't anything she had heard of before. She wasn't even sure if she should eat it. If this building looked as old as it did, then how stale were these things?

A painful rumble in the pit of her stomach

Founder damn it, she was hungry and she felt another opportunity like this would not be a common one. She had to do it.

She opened the box, taking out three 'bombs' and stuffed them in her mouth.

The result was instant as it was bizarre. Her mouth physically hurt from the sheer _sweetness _that that these 'bombs' possessed. It was nearly to point of being sour, the sheer intensity of the flavor! It was saying something that Louise knew she ate something that was well past it's prime and _still _found it to be too strong for her.

She nearly gagged from the stale texture, but the demand for any sort of subsidence overrode that and she quickly took two more handfuls of the sugar bombs and scarfing them down.

However she suddenly had a jolt of realization and she stopped amid another grab for food.

She checked the box, and this time actually slapped her forehead. It was already halfway empty. Cursing her self for losing control she closed it and looked where it was kept for any.

Oddly enough she did find something. Or somethings. Small roundish metal pieces with very small words on them that read 'Nuka Cola', others that read 'Sunset Saspirallia'. Nuka Cola? Sunset Sarsaparilla? The Elves certainly had strange names for things. But these looked worthless and she promptly discarded them to the floor, the pieces making an irritating noise as they impacted the ground.

She looked again, but now there was truly nothing left in the space. Nothing at all. Sighing and picking up the sugar bombs she realized that the time to go back outside was drawing near once more and she hadn't found any water source to keep her hydrated. But she didn't have any options. This place was empty so staying here was unlikely.

Gah stupid summoning ritual bringing her here...

…wait a minute… wait just a Founder damn minute! What had she been thinking!? Why didn't use the summoning spell again!? Sure it wasn't meant to be a two way portal, but it also wasn't meant to transport people to Brimir forsaken deserts either now was it? If it malfunctioned as a portal, then surely it might work again.

Suddenly giddy at the blatant option she had missed so idiotically before, she began searching for a spot to conduct the ritual. Normally she would have taken the time to draw a pentagram for such an event, it was a holy ritual after all, but frankly, she wanted out of this place as fast as possible.

She pointed her wand towards a corner of the building and began chanting.

"Pentagon of the five elements heed my call."

The stale air in the building suddenly seemed to get a vitalization as she put more of her energy into the spell. A breeze began blowing inside of the building, fueled by the magical energy building in the corner.

"I beg of you, my servant that exists somewhere in the vast universe heed my call!"

The dust in the building was suddenly lifted from all surfaces. It began flowing with the wind, the building creaking from the sudden force within it. The wooden boards rattled as did the shelves, some of the toppling over creating a ruckess. Louise was drowning it all out with her concentration and desperation. It was rivaling her growing thirst.

It was harder than usual however. Her whole body seemed alight with a dull pain, her head in particular began throbbing with each second longer the spell went on.

Suddenly at the height of her chanting, it appeared. The summoning portal! It light up the dark room with it's holy green light. Her body seemed alight with warmth, slightly painful in fact, flowing down her arms to her wand, but she didn't care.

She made towards it as quick as she could, but the moment she took one step, something happened. In just one second the portal seemed to expand and changed color from green to blue. On her second, now much more hurried step, it seemed to jiggle as if it were made of gelatin. On her third step, so close to it as she reached out her arm, it cruelly contracted back to it's point of origin and then…

It… exploded. It sent her flying back into a painful smack against the wooden wall. Pain was instant, spreading across her body as if it were on fire. The sunburns was just insult to injury at this point. No… it was still pain.

She landed in a heap, amazingly still holding her box of sugar bombs. Well, the pain in her entire body told her she wasn't crippled at least… damn you sturdy spine… and damn you sunburns…

However she didn't have much time to truly mope. The new hole in the wall coupled with the explosive force was too much for the building. Sounding in what she assumed was roughly the same amount of pain she was in, the building began visibly crumbling. Bit's and pieces of the room fell, giving the feeling that the whole thing was trying to swallow her. The fact that the room started to sink in did absolutely nothing to disprove that thought.

Her heart now racing at top speed the second time in a week, Louise was on her feet, her sunburns screams of pain now outdone by her screams of terror. She ran as soon as she was able, her legs making bounds the likes of which would have sprained something

She flew out of the hole, a piece of debris hitting her in her shoulder as she did, she till held onto the box though, the building collapsing completely behind her as she did. She was some distance away before she stopped to look at it. It just seemed to collapse from the hole inward, the roof of it sinking into a giant dust cloud that quickly expanded outward, making all sorts of horrible scraping and screeching sounds all the way.

Well that settled it. She wasn't staying there anymore. Her first day and night in the desert and all she had to show for it was a half box of food.

No matter. She had to push on. And soon. This commotion would undoubtedly draw the attention of something, be it elf or wildlife. Thankfully the sun was just rising, though the sky was still overcast, the intense glow coming from one side the cloud cover gave her a pretty good idea of where it was.

Small good news then. She was heading north the whole time. It was a small something then. With one quick glance back at her temporary shelter, she set off as quick as she could, leaving the destroyed building alone.

...

* * *

She was thirsty. She was sunburned. She was tired. She was scared. She was lonely. She was so many things that really deserved some vulgarities before and after them. She held her tattered cloak overhead once again in an attempt to keep the sun off her already existing burns. It was working better on account of the sun not being as high. She clutched her box and wand. She really must have been tired today, they felt like they weighed far more than they should. The increasingly hilly and rolling terrain did nothing to ease it.

Her mouth was becoming unbearably dry now. The heat was getting to her and it had only been one hour at her best guess at least since she had set off from her ruined shelter. And she had been getting an bad feeling in her stomach. Maybe eating these sugar bombs had been a mistake. The last thing she needed to do was vomit. Her headache only wanted her vomit. She decided to put off trying the summoning spell again. She feared for her health. Actually she was doing that for a while now.

She walked a while longer. And longer. And longer. Thankfully she had only encountered sparse wildlife again. Her magic at least had been more than enough to take care of them. But as before with her second attempt the summoning ritual, she felt a strange dull painful and warm sensation pass throughout her body. It was odd. She'd never had that particular problem with her magic before. She knew there was something odd about this land. It had to be some sort of latent Elven magic maybe causing some sort of interference with her own.

Grumbling at yet another problem she suddenly realized she had come up up an obstacle. A large outcropping of rock had rudely cut her off. Well this was just lovely. If lovely meant being tempted to blow the offending thing up. She scanned for any way through and she found one. A path leading downward into an area behind it. It seemed to be a ravine like area. Well, she needed a break anyway. And down there certainly looked like a god place to catch some shade.

She descended into the ravine, keeping her wand at the ready. As she entered it she quickly realized it did indeed open up into a narrow shallow ravine area. It was cooler down here already. She made to sit down and take in the shade for a while before setting off again.

Suddenly, something rang out all through the rocky canyons before her. It was sharp and instantaneous, and it got her attention as she looked around in fear.

Then she heard more, and more and more. It became an almost constant sound assaulting her eardrums. Then she heard what sounded like yelling over it. With a growing horror, she realized it was literally just a few twists and turns away.

Oh Founder damn it, what had she wandered into? It was nothing good and Louise began frantically looking for a place to hole up and wait it out and hope they passed her. She was urged on by a particularly loud scream from the battle, the pain carried off the walls and into her very being.

Breathing rapidly, all her pains forgotten, she darted towards a groove in the side of the pass, pushing herself against the wall as hard as she could.

It went on after that. And on. The sounds of what she assumed to be gunfire just kept going. She heard shouts over it occasionally, but for the most part it was just an unceasing racket bouncing off the walls of the canyon and finding a way to her ears.

Then it became quiet. Quiet enough to rival the gunfire in it's intensify and dread. Louise made no movements, except for shivering in fear. She clutched her sugar bombs and wand tightly. She prayed to Brimir to let them pass her bye. Not notice her…

She heard someone walking... it was faint, but she could hear footsteps crunching on the sand and rock. It continued past her, her hopes lifting with the passing.

Then she heard something fall from a height impacting near her level...

She never had a chance to raise her wand before a figure appeared from the right side brandishing an odd looking musket at her.

"Don't move!"

Her eyes locked onto the enemy, her hands trembling fiercely.

The enemy of man was before her.

The elf looked at her through heavily tinted glasses, a ragged looking scarf covering it's lower face. Had she not been lying down, she most certainly would have collapsed on the spot. Her wand thankfully was not in his sight. She discreetly pointed her wand at the monster, intent at least taking one of them out.

"F-f-fireba-" She breathed out in a quiet whisper. She nearly completed it, but then she noticed something... her eyes locked on the oddity.

…Wait… those ears… they weren't pointed… they weren't pointed…

This wasn't an Elf? But…

"All right kid, nice an easy. Do as I say. Get up slowly and keep your hands where I can see them!" The now identified human barked at her again. She lowered her wand discretely, trying to shove away how quickly she nearly killed another person. This was a human!? But how!? Humans were the enemy of of the elves, they hated each other how in founders name-?

"Kid seriously, get the fuck up!" He ordered once more.

"Okay…" She said softly, this whole ordeal sapping more of her precious energy.

"Get up slowly, no sudden movements. Keep your hands where I can see them."

She complied, and frankly she barely had the energy to do that.

She slowly walked out, holding both her wand and the box over her head with both of her hands. She approached the man, he roughly grabbing her objects from her with one hand. He stuffed them into his side pack and returned his full attention on her.

He gestured to her left with his gun. "Get moving."

Not really in a position, or mood, to do much else she complied. She walked in spite of the protests her body was giving her. The gun being a good motivator

They walked a little ways through the winding canyon until there was a divergence to the right.

"Turn here. Go up the hill." The man ordered.

Once again, she complied. She went up the hill and out of the canyon like area she was in, the sun lighting up her burns once more. Frankly it was a good thing she was as scared as she was. Her legs felt weak and it was pure adrenaline that kept them going up this climb.

She continued walking,and once she reached the top of the hill she was greeted by the sight of six other humans. Well six living humans at any rate. There were a fair amount of dead bodies lying all around, their blood staining the sand as it leaked into puddles around them. Two of them stood with weapons ready, two others seemed to be going from corpse to corpse and taking whatever they deemed worth taking. The fifth looked to be in conversation with a man on his knees, his face already having obviously bruised and beaten, even from this kneeling man was wearing a green uniform similar to those littering the battlefield. They were all dressed odd in her opinion. In some ways, they seemed more rages than anything else, a myriad of patchworks marring them. and they didn't look like they hadn't been changed or washed in some time.

The man standing was wearing what looked to be a black jacket of some sort, his pants a faded blue color. He was a tall one, standing well above her in height. His head was shaved, but other than that Louise couldn't make much more about him out.

As they approached she caught some of the conversation that was apparently going on between them. The man paced slightly.

"…ya fuckers. Ya cocky fragile fuckers ain't ya? Going and on about how your the only ones strong enough bring the Mojave into an age of unity and civilization, when you damn whine for a nuclear winter every goddamn day. And… what the fuck?" The man stopped whatever he was going on about as he caught sight of Louise as she was lead towards him. His attention snapped to her.

She got a good look at his face as he stared her down. His head was shaved of hair and his eyes were a deep blue. He had a rough looking face with a rough looking beard around his mouth, the very sand of the desert seemed to stick to it. His pants, jacket and shirt all bore signs of extreme use, his white undershirt in particular having what seemed like a layer of sweat and dirt on it. A frightening number of scars marred his face, some simple red lines, others almost like canyons on skin. To her, he had all the appearance of a thug.

When he spoke, his accent was absolutely nothing like Louise had ever heard before. "Johnny, you found a girl with fucking cotton candy for hair! What the fuck?!"

…what? She had no idea what cotton candy was, but the look in his eyes, and the chuckles from the group made her bristle in the face of danger.

"Just making sure the area is secure boss. Found her lurking in the ravine not far from here. This was all she had." he reached into his bag and retrieved her possession, the box and her wand. The boss, as they called him, held them. He shook the box to gauge how much was left inside. He looked at her wand with mild curiosity before turning his attention back to Louise."

"Ah, good work Johnny. Do another sweep and keep an eye out for any more patrols." Johnny, apparently, nodded and set off to do what he was ordered.

Th man, whom she presumed was the leader, looked at her and sighed. "Well, you got here at a bad time girl. There's no getting around it. To brass tacks then. Are you with them?" He gestured to the bound man and dead people.

"…what?" She blinked in confusion, her arms shaking.

"Are. You. With. This. Fuck. Face?" He said, emphasizing every word with a pointed finger to the bloodied man.

"No!"

"She's not lying. I've never seen her." The kneeling man breathed out with effort. Blood was running down his nose, and he had a nasty bruise on the side of his mouth.

"We don't know that for sure." Said another voice, a woman from the sound of it. She couldn't get a good look at her.

The green uniformed man scoffed. "Why the hell would we allow pink hair in the middle of a brown fucking desert? You have any idea how many basic camouflage training instructions that violates? And look at her, she's too young to wear a uniform in NCR. I'm telling you, I don't know who she is."

"He makes good points. But the fact remains, she's an unknown." Another one said. Eyeing her behind his goggles.

She gulped at the pressure and scrutiny she was under. She had thought to maybe use her noble status, but without her wand even she felt like it wouldn't do much good. "Please, I don't want any trouble." She begged.

"Well you found it. It's a bitch." The man said, getting his weapon to a more visible spot.

The leader took offence."Hey! Stow that weapon! We ain't fucking bandits."

"…well we technically are." The woman said.

The leader paused. "Okay fair point, but we ain't murders... of completely random people." He said.

Louise shook her head. 'Please! I just want to find out how to get back to Tristain!" She begged.

The whole group, the two scavenging from the bodies had returned long ago, and the bound man included gave her a set of bewildered looks.

"…Trsitain? I've been up and down the Mojave all my life and I've never heard of any settlement with that name." Said one.

"Maybe it's new. Mojave has all sort of shit going on lately." Another said.

It was all pointless prattle to her. She wanted answers!"Please, just tell me how to get there!"

"Well girly, it seems there's a problem. Not one of us has heard of that settlement we can't help you. Have you?" He asked casually to the beaten man. He gave a a glare in response.

"But that's absurd! Tristain isn't just some settlement, it's home to the Magical Academy, the most prestigious one in all of Halkegenia!"

"Uh, Halkegenia? Magic Academy?"

"Yes!" She exclaimed her dry throat putting as much exasperation into it as it could manage. "They are blessed by Brimir to protect people and guard against the Elves!"

"… Brimir, Elves... what the fuck is she going on about?" One said.

"Elves? That some new type of mutant?" Said the woman.

"Muta- No! They are the enemy of man!"

"Well tell them to get in line…" The beaten man said.

The lone woman in the group scoffed. "Well, if it's any consolation I don't think your with the NCR anymore. I think your just Brahmin shit crazy."

This... this couldn't be possible. How could even these backwaters not know about the very foundation of society!? And would they quit with the NCR idiocy already!? "I don't know what the NCR even is!"

"The New California Republic." The leader next the bound man said, his tone taking a slight mock to it.

"Promises of safety, unity, thriving communities. Promises made. _Made. _But not kept." The man said with a frown.

The beaten man protested, blood and spit flicking from his mouth, his lisp persisting. "Oh come on, you know that's not fair. Yeah, it's not perfect, but it's better than anything else poking out of this fucking world. Better than the Legion."

"At least the Legion is honest about what it promises. Death and destruction. You little weasels however, like to make promises of safety and unity, a democracy. What a puddle of fresh liquid Bighorn shit. It ain't nothing but a glorified feudal system. Your president reaps the fucking rewards of all your annexed territory's, sending it back out the old regions, while the rest of us on the frontier don't even get a say on how we get fucking robbed!" The man yelled right into the others face.

Louise, although loyal to the crown with all her might, and proud as she was, could see how this could turn out poorly if she said the wrong thing. She wisely decided to not bring up her home in detail.

He sighed and turned and walked back to Louise. "Girl, listen to me. Oh and you can put your hands down, sorry." She put them down.

"If you really are just hearing about them, then hear this. They aren't what the Mojave needs. Nothing more than raiders with an over complicated way of organizing things. They make you a part of them weather you want to or not. They're making the mistakes of the old world while claiming a new age of enlightenment. I should know..." he said. Something flashed in his eyes.

Apparently having enough of having been indirectly insulted the beaten man retorted. "And just what do you precious little asses know about running a country? Fucking Lost. You're nothing but a bunch of angry people out in the desert, mad that civilization has a price tag. So what if you lose a bit of money. It'll be better in the long run. Ungrateful bastards!"

The man in front of chilled the very air around him, for even his companions shifted nervously after the speech. His eyes, though technically looking at Louise seemed to be going to a much different place. She could almost see the red fury in his very eyes. If she had, she had no doubt she would be blinded by it.

"Wade." He called gesturing the man over. He complied and stood right behind her.

"Cover her eyes." He said, the aggression already taking over before he finished his sentence, a snarl overtaking his features. He spun on his heel and was in the process of pulling out something. That was all she could make out visually before a hand obscured her vision.

Her ears however were completely unobstructed. She head something metal hit flesh and a cry of pain. More hits, she knew she wasn't hit in the head, his screams of pain told her that many times over. The attacker was letting loose a string curses matching the violence itself in intensity. Then, she heard a snap and the screaming reached higher still. Then it became muffled, the screaming becoming a wet strained gurgling sound. She heard a few more snaps of something before one final impact and it became quiet completely.

Louise was trembling severely even before the hand was removed. The leader was standing over the man, now dead. Louise couldn't help but stare. Today was her first day seeing dead bodies, but the now dead man looked grotesquely mangled compared to the others. The man was laying on his back, a red sploch visible on his stomach. His left arm was visibly broken at the elbow, lying at an awkward angle and the bone was sticking out. Most horrifyingly though was his face. The man's jaw was open far too much for it to be normal, and his mouth was missing some teeth only a bloody mess of gum and tooth fragments remaining. Louise could feel her heartbeat pick up, and her stomach go for another loop. If there was another shock coming her way, she didn't think she could be able to keep it down.

The man stood there, breathing heavily from the exertion, the blood dripping from his weapon onto the dry desert sand. "If I had the goddamn patience, I would bury every single of you fuckers up to yer neck, and watch the sun peel off yer skin like paint."

He said something so softly Louise barely caught it.

"You don't know the first fucking thing about loss..."

He was breathing heavy at the exertion, blood dripping from a piece of blunt metal held in his hand. He put it back in a holster, uncaring of the blood still on it. He let out a deep sigh, his form relaxing considerably. "I'm sorry you had to be present for this girl. I got a bit of a temper on me sometimes. Now... maybe we can talk in peace." He said walking over to her. He stood near her, his blue eyes boring into her pink ones.

"What's your name first of all?"

Louse resisted the urge to say and do a great many things at the events that just happened. That was it? He just murdered a man! How could these people go from such acts of barbarity to civil discourse? She wanted to say so many things, but she forced them down and gave an answer. Almost literally. "L-Louise."

He nodded. "Well Louise, I can't tell you where to find this 'Tristain'. None of of us have even heard of it, so we can't really help you find it."

She shook her head frantically, a part of her wanting to deny this was happening."But that's impossible! It is as well known as Halkegenia's two moons!"

At the mention of the moons confusion spread. She some heads tilt.

"...Two moons? Earth only has one girl."

Another sighed, apparently getting tired of this charade."Boss let's just leave her. She's probably some junkie or just plain nuts."

He held up a hand silencing the protests. He knelled down to eye level with Louise, his blue eyes "Louise listen to me. You are on planet earth. It only has one moon and there's no such thing as magic." He said very slowly as if he were speaking to a small child.

She looked him right in the eyes looking for any sign that this was a joke or a lie. He just continued to stare. As he did Louise felt a true chill throughout her body.

No... no no no no no this couldn't be true! It had to be a lie! This... this wasn't possible. It... it... it was too much... for her stomach.

"I... oh..." With no further warning she promptly lost her lunch right in front of the man, just barely avoiding hitting him with her vomit. He got to his feet quickly backing away from the foul substance.

The remains of her sugar bombs spilled onto the dry desert sand along with some bodily fluids."Ah, fucking hell." he said grimacing.

A chuckle came from the group. "Jeez Lorcan, I know your breath can be bad, but this is ridiculous."

"Ah, stow it ya walking anus!" The man, now identified as Lorcan yelled back.

Louise cared not for their words for her entire view had just shifted dramatically. She was farther away from home than she realized. Despite her being dehydrated she was, her eyes got moist, her entire form trembling as she tried to spit out the remaining dribble, the foul taste sure to stay with her for some time.

"This... I can't be... I..." She was near sobbing at this point. Was she truly on another world? She didn't know if she believed that for sure, but the fact that these people don't even know Tristan, or Halkegenia in general, told her she wasn't in the desert that was close to her home. But they sounded pretty sure about the moons... could it be...

She put it out her mind for the time being, for her problems had mounted and she didn't need that weight clogging up her head right at this moment, her plans had changed. She wasn't walking home then. Her magic was the only way she could return home. And if these people didn't know about magic, then that might cause some problems if she revealed her self as a magic user. She couldn't come up with all the answers right this moment though, for the man seemed to be waiting for an answer.

The man, Lorcan she barely remembered, was looking at her with an odd expression. It wasn't necessarily concern, but there was something about it that seemed softer than it had been before. "Well, believe what you want to believe girl. It doesn't change the fact that we can't help you find this Tristan Place. Only settlement that's close is Goodsprings. But if your looking for a place to hole up, you could also come with us." He said with with an easy smile.

The sudden offer took her aback greatly as it did for the other present as the protests started immediately.

"Wait what?" One of the group said.

"Yeah what the fuck? What if she's NCR?"

Lorcan glared at them. "She ain't with the NCR ya daft idiots. I don't know what she is, but she ain't NCR. Look at her. She's... odd." he said gesticulating wildly to her.

"Her clothes are too clean. _She's_ too clean. There ain't nearly as much dirt grime and sweat on her as the rest of us. Her whites don't have the years of stains they get in the desert. And she doesn't stink nearly as bad as the rest of us. You don't think there's something odd with that?" He pointed out. The others were now gazing at her more intently at the mention of her oddities for this place. She had to give the man some credit. He was far more perceptive then she thought.

"Ugh, some fucking odd Vault Dweller, look boss, frankly I don't care about her. We've wasted a lot a time here and considering we just hit an NCR squad, I'd rather not be here when the next one shows up. We got lucky this time, but we won't the element of surprise anymore. The hell would she even contribute anyway? She look like she can barely take care of her self. She'd be nothing but a resource drain."

Lorcan seemed to pause. He tried again. "But can we really just leave her out here?" Lorcan asked.

"Well yeah. It's called ditching." The man deadpanned.

"You know what I damn well mean. We ain't a bunch of savages. We ain't gonna devolve into another band of raiders, so work with me here." The man he had brutalized said otherwise. He may ave been acting nice now, but Louise wasn't just going to forget that.

"Look Louise. I don't know much about you, but you really seem like you have no bloody idea what your doing. You looked parched, sun sick, and have no bloody idea on where to go. So I'll ask again, you wanna join us?" He asked.

There was some noises of protests coming from the group, but Louise was blocking them out as she herself was internally balking at the suggestion.

Join them? Why in founders name would she want to do that? From the sound of things, they were picking a fight with an army of a nation. She wanted to survive, how would joining something that involved lots of fighting help? Granted, he didn't exactly say that, but she had a feeling that being around them probably wouldn't help her reputation with this NCR.

"This... NCR... It's a powerful faction right?"

"Well yes. It's been expand into the Mojave recently. We got some beef with them and... well, I can't deny our life can be a bit exiting at times." Lorcan admitted.

Then that settled it. Joining them would cause her nothing but trouble. She had no interest in this country's politics, struggles, or any other thing in it. It wasn't her country and it wasn't her problem.

"I'm afraid I will have to decline." She answered.

The man eyes her intently at the statement. She stared at him defiantly, finally having a but of her noble spark in her. The man didn't look angry though. He seemed more disappointed. He sighed. "Well, I'd be a hypocrite if I forced you to join wouldn't I? That's the whole reason we fight these bastards." He said. Louise could see the regret on his face however. He held out Louise's wand and box of Sugar bombs out. She took her wand, and hesitantly grabbed the box. Seeing something you ate come back up lingered on one's mind after all.

"You mentioned there was a settlement nearby. If you could point out it's direction, I can make my way there." She asked wanting to get a move on.

He nodded. "Goodsprings." He pointed in a direction. East it looked like. "Bout two hours walk from here. We'd walk with ya, but alas due to our actions here, we don't want to get Goodsprings involved in this. They'd follow our tracks right to the town and then they'd accuse Goodsrpings of harboring murderers or some shit. I'd like to you help ya get there, I truly would, but If by some chance they do come snooping around, just say you came across the scene and scavenged what you could. Goodsprings is an out of the way town for the most part and the NCR has done a lot of things to get on people's nerves around these parts. They won't cause any trouble if they know what's good for them." Lorcan explained.

That sounded just what she needed. An out of the way location. Maybe she could take up some jobs to earn money of some sort and find lodging. She might have make due at first, but frankly, getting involved in life or death situations sounded like a far worse time than just sleeping in a less than ideal place. She could say she'd done _that_ before at least.

"Just be careful when heading into town. They had some problems recently with some raider group harassing them. They managed to give em a god kick in the teeth though. Some courier, believe it or not, led a militia and sent them packing. I think the town is safe, but anyone will be shaky with some close calls like that."

Raiders? Well the random bandit was better than the random soldier in her book. And at least towns didn't go looking for trouble.

"Is there any possibility of me finding any work there?" She asked.

He nodded. "A good chance. There's a saloon that could do with some help, and the Bighorner ranchers always did have some trouble finding hands. If you don't mind getting your hands dirty that is..." He seemed to examine her.

"Course you do got some valuables on ya so that should help. That little golden thing you got on your neck could go for a decent price. Hell, your clothes look pretty damn pristine. Trade them in, you could get some decent caps for it. Should probably trade in that cloak for a decent hat." He chuckled.

Despite the utter absurdity of what the man was saying about trading in her clothes, the word caps seemed to stick in her mind. She blinked in confusion. "Caps?"

"It's the currency most of the Mojave uses. The NCR's got some dollar bills, but they're pretty weak." He explained as he took out some objects from his pocket to show to her. And she once again felt the urge to slap herself. The words Nuka Cola and Sunset Sarsaparilla stared back at her mockingly.

It was the same things she had seen back at the building! She had money in her hand the whole time and just let it fall through her fingers! Founder damn it, she really needed to learned how things worked around here.

"Boss!" The man called out again.

Lorcan rolled his eyes and barked a response."Ah, all fucking right!" He put his fingers into his mouth and whistled sharply. Another member came from somewhere out of sight from keeping watch, while Johnny from earlier came back as well. They all formed around him waiting to set off.

"We gotta get going Louise. Just head East from here and you'll get there." He said as he reached into his jacket.

"And try to step on rocks if you don't wanna leave tracks!" The man, Johnny said laughing.

She barely caught the object tossed at her from Lorcan due to that mocking tone.

The others looked at him, shocked that he gave up some water so easily. He simply smiled."Something for the road, and to prove I ain't lying. Like I said, we ain't savages." He said. The man seemed hesitant. Most likely to let her go. She appreciated the sentiment honestly, but her mind was made up. She didn't want to get dragged into their conflict.

"They got a doctor in town too. Nice fella. You be sure to see him, ya hear. And be careful. Mojave is a hotbed for trouble these days." With one more glance at her, Lorcan began walking off into the desert followed by his companions.

Louise didn't wistfully watch them go however. As soon as they set off, she was staring at the object she held with fascination. It was a clear material that held clean water. Despite having a vital substance in it, Louise was honestly fascinated with it's container. It somewhat molded to her grasp, but was strong enough to hold water. She could could just hold it for hours...

Actually, that might be the dehydration talking. She unscrewed the cap and as soon as the warm water hit her mouth, she began guzzling it down. She didn't care if it was warm, she was just happy to get some water in her system. She pulled the odd container away from her panting in at least some contention.

It was only when she looked back up again did she realize they were gone and she was left alone again.

It suited her just fine knowing the trouble that followed them. Pulling her cloak over her head again,she turned eastward and began walking towards the town named Goodsprings.  
...

* * *

**A day late on this, you can thank my computer throwing out Blue Screens like no tomorrow lately. Bleh... It might be turning into Fallout 76.**


	3. A Clean Face II

Cloak once again over her head Louise was heading towards the town called Goodpsrings. Her half box of Sugar Bombs and wand tucked in her arm pit as she walked through the brown dull landscape of the desert. Other than the occasional breeze picking up some dust and irritatingly coating her in it and the sound of crickets among the rocks, there was nothing of interest. Fine by her. Between giant bugs and conflicts between gangs and armies, the last thing she wanted was anything of interest from here to Goodsprings.

She continued walking, her head under her tattered cloak the stinging beams of sunlight occasionally going over her face. More dust, more crickets, more aching burns with every movement. She occasionally looked around her for any signs of wildlife. More specifically bugs. None so far.

She had a set destination in mind. It was something at least. Far more than anything else she had encountered during her time here so far. And it wouldn't force its way back out of the stomach. Founder damn it, that was awful. She had lost some lunch and water in one fell swoop. Her stomach wasn't demanding more food just yet, but it was only a matter of time. She kept walking.

More brown landscape. More rocks. More crickets. A pebble in her shoe a little while later was the only thing of note. It was soon rectified, her journey only briefly hindered. She walked on.

She stifled more than a few yawns as she walked as well. The amount of time of nothing happening was a siren call for her sleep deprived state. But she knew better than to do that. She had seen what lurked in these lands, even if nothing happening was trying to cloak that.

In a fit of boredom, her mind went back to those people she had met. The first one's since she arrived. She really didn't know what to think of them. On the one hand they openly murdered a defenseless man, brutalized him beyond what was necessary. On the other, they _didn't _do that to her, even though most of them seemed rather insultingly indifferent to her, period. That man, Lorcan, showed no remorse for killing and torturing, yet seemed willing to take in a girl he'd never met before when none of his comrade's did. He certainly didn't have to give her some water, and after some thought it convinced her that he did tell her the truth about this Goodsprings place. You don't waste water in the desert after all and giving water to a person you sent to their deaths certainly counted as wasteful. That still raised the question of why. He just seemed a bit too willing to take her in to her. And from what little she gathered, in this political climate it was even riskier than usual. So again, she didn't feel right just going along with him.

Her other main thought was the situation in this place, this Mojave. From just one meeting it sounded like a war was breaking out here and she was walking right towards it. She had absolutely no plans to join it maybe, but it was something to keep in mind. Back home at least, there was peace between the kingdoms with only minor squabbles between idiot and greedy nobles. Idiots, making Henrietta's life difficult…

She paused in her gait once another painful thought of home entered her mind. Henrietta de Tristain had been her playmate as a child and her best friend. Arguably her only out of family friend.

She shook her head, a slightly shaming herself for the thoughts. Who was she kidding? Henrietta probably forgot about her long ago. She was a princess. She had so many responsibilities there was no way she remembered her. Even if Louise did. She remembered the games of hide and seek. She remembered listening to her as she confided in her, personal secrets and her apprehensions about becoming a ruler. She remembered how the princess even told her that she only trusted Louise to see her cry...

Louise felt her chest tighten at the thought of her childhood friend.

…did Henritta really forget all that?

Surprising herself even, Louise somewhat hoped so at any rate… then again, if she did, then she too would be stricken with worry right about now. Just like her family…

At a another bit of moisture gather in her eyes, she shook her head rapidly to clear her head. No she couldn't get like that. She couldn't afford to waste that water on tears. She began walking again, the wind and crickets going away without a care in the world. The pink haired girl marched on.

She marched on. And on. And on. The sun had climbed back to it's peak.. There were breaks starting to form in the clouds now however, and a full beam of undiluted sunlight just had to shine through. Founder above, it felt like she might burst into flames in direct sunlight!

She grunted and silently cursed the sun. The sooner she got to this town the better.

So she walked on. Not much of anything happened for quite a while.

Sadly, it seemed her luck had to run out sooner or later.

For she heard something. Something sounding as if many legs were skittering her way. Already She turned to face it… and screamed. It was worse than she ever could have imagined.

...

* * *

In the town of Goodsprings, the people simply going about their daily routines. Sunny smiles, had just returned from a routine walk around the Goodsprings outskirts. The Powder Ganger bodies they had moved and buried buried a ways away had already attracted some critters to their area regardless, but nothing they had to worry about. Mostly just coyote's thankfully. The smell of fresh kill could be carried far and it was always a standout among the dry desert winds to the scavengers looking for a meal. Trudy was at her bar, unfazed mostly by what had transpired. She had been in a few scrapes in her time and she could say she's been through worse. They hadn't lost anybody for one, though some did take a few hits. Doc Mitchell's supplies were still holding out though, so there was that. And Chet was just happy that business was back to normal again… well except for one person.

The man who had lead the militia lingered. For what reason nobody could guess, They had assumed he would track down the men who had nearly killed him.

Instead, the man responsible for leading the militia was… tending to a garden. He was busy applying some Bighorner waste to a farmer's garden for fertilizer. The farmer in question had taken a hit during the raid on Goodsprings and he decided to do tend to his crops while he was recovering. Just until he was work ready, which should be tomorrow. Just as well for him. Even after the medical treatment Doc Mitchell had given him, he had been experiencing some dizzy spells. Nearly caused him to take a few hits in battle, but thankfully, luck seemed to be on his side during that.

He would wait one more day. Going off while he wasn't at his full capabilities was stupid, and he didn't get the age of fifty by being stupid and overconfident and taking risks when it wasn't necessary. He had seen and worked, albeit usually briefly, with plenty of idiots in his time with suicidal overconfidence. Well, far be it from him to deny them their dream of being a ground decoration.

He pulled his shovel from the ground and set it beside him as he admired his work. The manure had been spread evenly among the crops to help them grow. He had worked a ranch and crops before and he actually kind of missed this lifestyle. Well the caps we was going to get for covering for the man helped admittedly

As he did however something graced his ears for the briefest moment. It sounded like a scream. A female one, coming from the west. He perked his ears waiting for a follow up. After a while nothing came and he was about to set to work on the next spot.

And then he heard an explosion coming from the west.

...

* * *

Louise De La Vallière found herself for the second time running from a giant disgusting bug. It was similar in basic shape to the small brown one she had encountered earlier. Only it was far, far larger.

She only got a passing glance at it but in the two seconds it was in her retinas it surely would never leave. The giant scorpion was a darkish blue with horrible beady eyes that gleamed when it saw her, it's pincers snapping open and closed rapidly betraying it's eagerness to cut her to pieces, and it's tail with a stinger roughly the size of her head with a wicked looking barb on it. Honestly, had she not been running for her life in the second time this week, she might have prided herself on taking so much in at such a short time span.

It didn't help her actually get rid of the scorpion though, so it was a hollow victory to her anyway. Running was far more important. She was weaving between rocks that occasionally crossed her path. The sound of them being casually tossed aside or outright obliterated followed close behind. They only barely slowed the monster down, but she had a feeling that without them she would have been caught already. This thing was offensively fast for it's size.

She head the constant skittering of either it's mandibles or legs but of doom regardless. She still held onto her precious box of Sugar Bombs amazingly, though she dropped that strange water container a while back. She had her wand in her left hand, and blindly aimed it behind her.

"FIREBALL!" She positively shrieked, her nearly deafening herself with it's volume.

As she let the spell loose, a sudden shot of pain coursed through her body and head nearly made her fall over, but she kept her course. Just barely. And she was rewarded, and partially cursed, of the damn monster screeching in pain. She dared a glance back, and found that one of it's claws had a hole in it,a green liquid leaking out, offering a small look at the soft inside of it's claw.

_Hope that hurts you disgusting thing! _She thought triumphantly, allowing herself a brief grin before turning her head back.

She turned her head just in time to realize she was running towards a steep hill at her top speed with no way to stop herself. With little more than a yelp as she realized it, she flew a little ways, her momentum ensuring that, before landing painfully on one of her exposed thighs, the rocks scraping painfully on her skin. She then found herself tumbling and somersaulting uncontrollably down a rocky hill, unable to gauge the bug's distance from her in this state.

Even when she finally came to a stop, her new world of death still found it content to keep spinning. She could still hear the faint skittering of the scorpion however, and it caused her to try and get to her feet.

Well actually getting to her feet was easy, it was staying on them that was difficult. She learned this as she went face first into the ground and got a gash on her chin as a result. The adrenaline was wearing off now, and she was starting to feel a bit weak. It didn't hamper her desperation however as she tried to crawl away as fast as she could.

She heard the skittering and shifting rocks as the monstrosity began following her down, the sound of shifting earth and rocks were just audible over her panicked breaths and the sound's that thing was making sounding like it was getting closer.

She rolled herself onto her back, aiming her wand with a trembling pained hand. It was at her level and bearing down on her.

"F-fire… fire…" She croaked out in rapid shallow breathes. She couldn't complete the words. The terror and exhaustion was simply overwhelming her at this point.

She could only lay there, moving backwards as fast as she could, which was outdone by the scorpion by every stretch of the imagination. She still held her wand up, trying desperately to do something to stave off the end. It appeared as hopeless as her casting true magic had been all her life.

That was until a shot rand out and something hit the scorpion right it's mandible, the thing shrieking in pain. She couldn't see her would be rescuer, but she could see their attempts. Green blood erupted from more wounds along the creature's front, and despite everything Louise took some pleasure in that fact. Even some it's eyes exploded in a brief little 'pops' of gore and viscera.

Unfortunately, the various wounds appearing on the bug did little other than, well bug it, and even with some if it's eye missing the creature advanced on her faster than she could pitifully back away. It's claws were snapping open over and over in anticipation, the hole in one of them not deterring it in the least.

Even more shots rang out, and Louise barely noted that the source of them seemed to be getting nearer. Very near in fact. She didn't know if it was shock or being distracted more by the giant bug, but Louise was only aware that the shots were suddenly right next to her and suddenly right over her. Her hurting ears did very well in conveying that.

A man came leaping out of nowhere and leaped over her form on the ground wielding a blade in his left hand. He let out another hail of bullets in the bugs sensitive eyes. Taking advantage of the bug's painful distraction, he landed atop the bug's back and using a small odd looking hand pistol in his right hand began firing at the thing's tail. Or more specifically, what she could make out being a gap in the things armor in the middle of the tail, green blood lying out with bits of flesh as well. After that he quickly lunged at the weakened spot sending his sword into the already torn and bloody segment.

The result was the sword cutting through the flesh enough that the imposing tail suddenly sagged as if it were a tree on the verge of coming down, a green gap on the thing's tail exposing what had to be it's muscle and leaking blood. The thing let out a horrible pained screech which almost garnered sympathy from the Vallière. Almost. The fact that it's mouth wasn't that far away from her was responsible for that. It began turning, it's nearly useless tail swinging slight with its momentum.

Not wanting to give it a chance, the man grabbed the thing by its stinger, taking great care to avoid that actual barb, and fire more rounds at the weak spot. The combined result from the scorpion and man pulling against each other and a few more bullets to already weakened flesh, the result was inevitable. Though he seemed to struggle in doing so, the man finally manage to hold out long enough for the scorpion to pull it's own tail off. The man stumbled to the ground but was back up just was quick, the tail twitching even though it had no owner.

Louise was lying there unable to do much of anything other than hazily gawk at the gory spectacle. A green flow of blood was flowing out of the wound and down it's tail. The scorpion left out another screech of agony as it turned to face the person causing it, completely ignoring the pinkette on the ground. It began moving away, following the man who was leading it.

Suddenly however Louise felt herself be picked up off the ground by an unknown source. She was brought to her feet, albeit very shakily and still clutching her wand and box. She didn't see the person who helped her, but two people came into her sight. One was a girl with blonde hair holding a rifle, and a dog beside her. The other looked to be a heavily wrinkled old man with a bright white beard on his face.

"What the hell is that crazy bastard doing?" The old dark skinned man said. He had various red sticks with what looked like fuses coming out of them stuffed in his pockets and some in his hand.

"Jesus, he pulled the damn thing's tail off!" Said a women's voice behind Louise, the one who had helped her up.

The blonde girl scoffed. "And here he said he was suffering dizzy spells... Pete, blow that damn thing up. Trudy, you wanna take the kid to Doc's and get her out of the way while we finish this thing off?" The woman asked, though even Louise swore she was the younger one due to her shorter size.

"Sure thing. C'mon kid. No use getting in their way." Trudy said, gently beginning to guide the exhausted and hurt pink haired girl to a nearby house.

Louise barely heard her. Her eyes never left the battle. Seeing that they planned to do, the man who had pulled off the scorpions tail, the man quickly began running towards them, the beast notably moving slower after all the punishment it had received. The old man already had the sticks lit. He threw them as the man The sticks landed right at it's feet and then promptly exploded. It didn't kill the monster, but it did blow off both pairs of many legs, or at least most of them. The end result was a legless and tailless scorpion lying on the ground, it's pincers and mandibles barely moving. It only had one eye the rest pierced by bullets.

The lone eye seemed to track the humans as they gathered around it just outside of sticking distance. Finally, it seemed to go still, green blood pooling onto the sand.

They decided to lob one more stick at it just to be sure. A giant gaping, somewhat steaming hole in it's general head area satisfied everyone involved. That was the last thing Louise could see before she was pulled inside a building.

...

* * *

Louise was sitting in a chair, her head buried in one hand resting other knee, her whole body slowly realizing it was still sunburned and that she had gotten some fresh wounds coming down that hill. A particularly nasty scrape along her left thigh and was bleeding slightly. She had been given a simple cloth to place over her thigh wound to prevent blood from getting ever and she held it there. The room she was in already had a faint smell of blood to it. There was another man laying on the bed, a bandage around his ankle. He was s sound asleep, unaware of the pink haired girl not far from him.

It was frankly an intoxicating enticement. She wanted so desperately to fall asleep right now. To just let her eyes close and drift off to somewhere where she wasn't in so much pain. Her body ached, and her eyes dropped teasing her. But she couldn't. She knew very well she was in the hand of strangers. They might have saved her, but Louise knew the dangers of being too trusting.

The woman, Trudy had left some time ago, leaving her in the care of the older man who called himself Doc Mitchell. He hadn't asked anything about her or about the commotion he had to have heard. He just set about to his work, exchanging a few words with Trudy as she entered and exited.

Louise brought her head up slightly. She knew she had to stay awake. She idly watched the man as he walked back and forth gathering up what he needed, a noticeable limp in his right leg. He pulled a chair and sat down beside her setting down the gathered supplies.

"Gotta say, if visitors coming into town these days keep bringing us this much excitement, Goodsprings might just rival New Vegas in entertainment value." He said chuckling.

Yes, being chased by a Founder damn giant scorpion, how droll.

"Alright, let's get started. I think that gash on your thigh takes priority. I know it's right awkward, but we need to get these sorted out before they get infected." He said casually, as he pulled out another one of those odd containers of water.

"We'll need to clean the wound of any dirt first." He said idly as he patted the wet rag against her wound. It stung a little, but Louise could see the dirt that had gotten in the wound coming out with every dab and realized just how dirty it actually was. Founder, she never had to deal with injuries like this before.

'Don't look like you'll need stitches though, so there's something at least. Just need to disinfect it and bandage it up. I won't be using a stimpak though. We gotta save those for more serious injuries, and we had plenty of those to go around the last couple of days, so unfortunately, it won't be a painless process." He said, giving Louise a sympathetic look.

Suddenly however, in walked a familiar face. The man who had jumped on the scorpion.

She finally got a good look at him. He was a dark skinned man, though compared to Lorcan his face was surprisingly free of blemishes. For the most part. A bit like her, there appeared to be a nasty looking cut, albeit long healed, on his chin, and she swore she could see a perfect match up to it on the base of his neck before it disappeared beneath his shirt. Her increasingly groggy mind didn't let her absorb much more than that. Heck, she felt like she barely remembered the doctors name and face. Her eyes fluttered shut for a brief moment before she opened them and tried to concentrate again.

Mitchell smiled and chuckled. "Ah, there he is. The man of the hour. You just can't seem to avoid jumping into trouble can you? And now your starting to that literally." He chuckled as he continued to clean Louise's wound.

"Still, even one not in the medical profession could tell you the health risks of what you did." He said, giving the man a stern look.

The man shrugged. "It was necessary to give the scorpion another target." He simply said. Louise expected a follow up statement to that, but nothing came of it.

Mitchell finally removed the rage he had been using and picked a clean one and the bottle as well. "Well that's true I suppose.

Uncorking the bottle he poured some alcohol onto a rage, the dull thud the bottle made when he set it back down giving her a foreboding of the pain to come.

"Ready?" He asked.

She could only nod and clutch her hands in anticipation.

The alcohol soaked rag touched the wound and it was as if someone had stabbed her. The pain shot out from the wound and she gripped the wooden table, the wood creaking in unison with the hiss that escaped her lips. Her nails dug into the table from the pain as the drink. At least she was awake again...

He sighed. "Sorry, but this is for your own good. The last thing you need is getting an infection. Just hang in there a few seconds longer. You wanna tell us were you're from at least?"

"I'm from Tristain." She gritted out. Please, Founder please let what Lorcan said be false...

"Hm. Never heard of it. Come to think of it don't think I ever heard your accent before either. Sounds naturally offensive… no offense."

She had no idea what to make of that odd statement. Or rather she was too in pain to care. She just wanted this done.

"It's French." The man replied.

"Hm. Knew of the country, just never what they sounded like. Come to think of it, how did you know?"

The man shrugged. "I've been around a while. I've been to many places. I've learned things from both." He cryptically replied.

"That include riding scorpions?" Mitchell asked jokingly.

"Yes actually." He replied without any trace of sarcasm.

It was just as he said. In a few more moments, he pulled the rag away, the burning sensation going with it. He continued talking as he worked in an attempt to pass the time.

"So this Tristain place. Is it a Vault of some sort? Or a town above a Vault?" He asked as he began to wrap the bandages on her thigh. It may have been a casual thing for him, but for her, the feeling of someone else's hands on her was an uncomfortable one.

"Vault? What's a Vault?" Well she had it in her mind of a gold vault, but something told her he meant something else.

At that, the man lifted his head from the wound and gave her a look that almost made her wonder if she grew a second head. "Well, for one thing it's where I was born and raised. A giant underground bunker that was designed to. Though I hear that mine was a lucky one. One of the few that didn't become a tomb at any rate." He said, sadness tinging his voice. She pressed on with her subject.

"Tristain. It is a capital city of Halkegenia. As well know as it's two moons." She said, repeating her explanation from before. Here she would would confirm if Lorcan and his group had been truthful once more.

"Two moons? That's a new one. Can't say I've heard of any of the other places though. Tristain, Halkegenia, nothing."

She said nothing and her face was the picture of calm, but inside, whatever comforting denial she had promptly vanished and a cold, cold fear replaced it.

She was far, far away from home... she really was another world.

She just whimpered to herself. Though her exhaustion was a blessing of some sort. She simply didn't have the energy to cry anymore.

He finally finished applying the bandage to her wound and was looking at her other less serious one."Wasn't so bad was it? Now, we just have to see to the one on your chin and unless you got more wounds on you that is." He asked, looking at her for an answer.

She didn't answer at first and just stared off into her when she did, it was a quiet, flat tone that sounded exhausted as she felt and looked at the moment.

"I don't… I don't think so. That thing was the only creature I encountered on my way to this town." It wasn't a lie. She didn't say people and she ran into those flies before she had any idea where she was.

"Heh. Sounds like you DID get lucky then." He said as he worked on her chin wound. It went just as well as the thigh wound, even if the alcohol stung again.

"All right, that should do it. Cuts and scrapes are far more pleasant to treat than gunshot wounds to the head. Or gunshot wounds in general I suppose. But just to be safe, let me just put this on for a spell."

He reached into the bag and pulled out one of the most bizarre looking things she had seen yet. It looked like a large bulky metal bracelet with a series of buttons under a large green glass looking ornament, with an assortment of what looked like buttons and knobs placed in random spots.

"This here's a Pip Boy. I just need to put this on to see if there's any injuries we can't see. I'm just being thorough here. That fall might have at least cracked something. This'll give us an idea."

He rolled up Louise's sleeve on her left arm and put on the "Pip Boy' and as soon as the arm clamped closed, suddenly the large glass lit up with a bright amber light. Despite herself, Louise felt her eyes widen at the sight. That was about it however. Too many other things diluting this odd thing for her.

Mitchell's eyes seemed to be scanning something on it, the movement of his eyes were as if he were reading a book. "Well, so far so good. No internal bleeding, no toxins, no broken bones. Hm, sleep deprivation, mild starvation, and moderate dehydration though. I definitely recommend some bed rest and food and water. Other than that though..." He trailed off, the old man's gaze suddenly drawn to something that came up on the screen. His face scrunched as he read.

The grin slowly disappeared from his face."I… what the? What…" He began squinting at it. Then he tapped it, as if trying to check if something was off about it.

His eyes became wide as "Oh my… you." He turned to man who had been standing there the entire time. He hadn't said a word, but at the tone the doctor was using, both he and Louise were at apt attention.

"Go get the Radaway. It's right down the hallway, first door on the left." The man nodded and quickly rounded the corner without protest.

He turned back to face her, a serious expression on his face. "Ah hell. Louise I don't know how to tell you this, but you're suffering radiation poisoning."

She had no idea what that meant. Radee ashon? That sounded like something a whore would name herself."…what?"

"Radiation poisoning. I don't know what you were doing, but according to this, you got about a hundred rads in you and..." He looked at the Pip Boy again, his face frowning.

"Is… is it still climbing? How in the... Louise, are you sure you didn't come from a vault?" He asked.

"No." Her voice was light and timid, coming out in a tone barely above a whisper.

He grunted. "Well that don't make a lick a sense. Nothing but a Vault Dweller could be this goddamn allergic to radiation. I should know. If we weren't getting sick from diseases from the wasteland, we were getting sick from the background radiation everywhere. Some worse than others. I was lucky. All I had to do was avoid getting anything more serious than a cut. But you... your getting irradiated from just breathing and existing in this place."

She had no idea what a good majority of those words meant. The jargon he was using was so alien to her. Enough that she might have even laughed at some of the absurd things he was saying. But his foreboding tone and grim look clamped down hard on any levity she might have otherwise felt. She spoke in a shaky breath."W-what does that mean?"

"I-" Before the doctor could respond the man returned carrying what looked like a bag holding a sickly yellow substance in it. He quickly took it from him and turned back to her and began explaining.

"It means that you're far more susceptible to radiation. As hard as it was for me, I eventually adapted. But others... others just couldn't. You're showing a textbook case of radiation allergy. Harmful rad levels mean something different when it comes to Wastelanders and Vault Dwellers. Wasters been living with the rads for a long time and they've long since adapted to it. Dwellers haven't. Dwellers are 'pure' so to speak, but that ain't a good thing. Hell, we could barely stand the conventional diseases, without the radiation making us weaker. And now, with these rad levels, your immune system might already be shot to hell...dammit, I need to get this started..."

Louise just numbly nodded. She barely even reacted to the prick the doctor gave her as he inserted the tube into her arm. Honestly at this point, her mind was overwhelmed. Overwhelmed with everything she had experienced, and learned withing the last hour. Everything was turning into even more of a blur even as the process of removing the rads or whatnot began. She barely noticed. The only thing she had truly understood in that ramble of information that she was sick, and likely was going to get even more sick from something she couldn't even understand.

She bowed her head, and the exhausted Valliere silently began praying to Brimir for her to get through the days to come.  
...


	4. A Clean Face III

Doc Mitchell was silent as the last of the Radaway was fed into the vain of the pink haired girl. She hadn't said anything in quite a while, instead opting to stare blankly. Though in a way it was a blessing as well. Good thing too, that wall would have been very boring otherwise.

He didn't know what to really think of her. She showed all the signs of coming from a vault, and yet she seemed downright ignorant of the concept. Her clothes were certainly odd and added to the mystery surrounding her. They weren't Vault jumpsuits, which was obvious, but they didn't have the years of wear and tear and constant patch jobs that were common in the wasteland. Looked downright brand new. And Mitchell had been around long enough to know what counted as such in the wastes.

And simple biology pointed to such as well. She was far too sensitive to the radiation levels of this earth for her to be anything other than a Vault Dweller. The only clues he had about her was that she came from a place called Tristain and had a French accent. That wasn't much for even the most dedicated of busy bodies. And that wasn't even getting started on her odd choice of hair color. He occasionally found himself going on odd internal tangents about where she found the dye amount needed to get such a thorough and even color.

All in all, the girl was an odd one. But she was still someone who needed help. They didn't shy away from helping two others before and Mitchell knew he couldn't turn her away in good conscience.

That being said, there was no doubt some people would be suspicious of her. Ringo had led them into a fight withe Powder Gangers, and though they won that fight, Mitchell was worried if people might start having second thoughts about taking in more people. It was-

"So how is she?"

Mitchell jumped a little as the dark skinned man spoke. Swiveling his head he came face to face with the man's dark brown eyes. For a six footer, he knew how to be silent when he wanted to.

Collecting himself Mitchell spoke. "Well, she's got a sensitivity to rads only held by Vault Dwellers, but she has no idea what Vaults even are, and I could go into some rather long winded rants about that one. But staying on medical topics, she's got some oncoming malnutrition and moderate dehydration, sunburns all along her body, and now with these rads, an infection from those wounds is likely. Hell, her getting a splinter could lead to blood poisoning. Or tetanus. Or possibly getting asthma from just breathing on a particularly windy day. I can give you a full list if you want." He said idly as he reached for a stimpak on the shelf.

He sighed as he looked a the device in his hand. "I was hoping to avoid using these, but the antibiotics will help her fight off any germs that managed to get in before I got to it . I wouldn't normally do this, but we're dealing with a special case here." He explained. He grabbed the bottle of alcohol and poured some into a glass before setting the needle if the stimpak inside as it was sterilized.

"Could there be a possibility of an allergic reaction with the Radaway?" He asked making Mitchell look back in surprise. That had been a good point.

He nodded. "That is a possibility. Using the same drug over and over again might make the body see it as a pathogen. If she takes so much of it, who's to say her body wont start rejecting that? I've seen that happen before, and it's not a pretty sight. We'll just have to hope for the best."

The man seemed to look at the girl intently, a look Mitchell couldn't place in his eyes.

"You're not thinking of taking her with you… are you?"

The man slowly turned his head, giving Mitchell a stoic look, but one that radiated bewilderment nonetheless."…no. Her best chance is to stay here. It's mostly stable and out of the way, and a stop for traders. If she can earn her keep here then she should have no trouble getting money for the medicine she needs. Taking her with me would cause nothing but even more uncertainty to everything." He said in a slightly scolding tone.

Mitchell was silently berating himself. That had been a rather embarrassing suggestion.

"Well, in any case I'll put in an order for some more medicine. The Followers I hear are some of the few people capable of actually making Radaway and Rad-X. But even then the girls future isn't set in stone to put it mildly. She's hardly the only one who needs help after all."

He sighed in frustration. It truly was not being able to adequately help someone. he may have learned to accept so many years ago, but all the same.

"Now what about you? How have you been feeling?" Mitchel asked, wanting to get an update on his other patient, his eyes flicking to the scar tissue on his skull.

"Mostly good. I had a dizzy spell as I came into the house. All of my limbs and extremities are still working correctly at least. I'll wait for tomorrow to make a more informed decision."

Mitchell smiled. "Glad to see somebody actually follow doctors order's for change. Besides's the lazy that is. Usually people brush us off and then wonder why they nearly dies or get another wound."

The man grinned. "Indeed"

Mitchell'ls eyes widened slightly in gave a sly smile of his own before turning back towards the girl.

...

* * *

Louise still sat in the chair long after Doc Mitchell had left. Her mind was still trying to fully process the absolute barrage of sights, sensations and new people she had encountered in the last half hour.

Radee ashion… that bizarre sounding word was the thing that was at this very moment killing her. At least that was what she had been told. True, they could have been making it all up for some bizarre and inane reason, but a part of her realized that was just a form of wishful thinking. Why would they lie about something and then use medicine on her if it wasn't real? From what she had seen during her trek to this place gave her the impression of a barren place with scarce supplies. She may not have made it her study, but she felt medicine wasn't something you waste of nothing.

No… no matter how much she wanted to delude herself, this was a real threat. An invisible death on this world that she was more vulnerable to than the natives. Honestly, a part of her wondered if she did something so sinful that Birimir Himself decided to punish her. It would certainly explain a great deal of what has been happening to her thus far.

"Excuse me, Louise?"

Mitchell's voice had caused her to jolt a little and she looked up at him. She noticed though that he was standing an unusual distance away for a conversation. What was he doing?

"Listen, I can't say for certain I fully understand you. Your clear ignorance of the world is something strange, But whatever the reason for it, you need to learn some things if you wanna survive." He said, his expression that of a professor demanding full attention.

"First off, with regards to the radiation, try and keep your distance from other living things. We're practically living walking radiation sponges at this point, sort of like Glowing Ones. In your case, I'd say, ten feet should be a good enough distance."

Ten feet from other people, no LIVING THINGS? She had no Founder damn idea what a Glowing One was, the distance restriction was overriding what ever questions she had about that.

"I know, It'll be a right pain in the behind, but you need to take all the precautions there is. Your life is going to depend on Radaway and how often you can keep your supply of it up. Taking steps to give you more time is worth the effort. Still, even the most severe case of radiation allergy was never this bad. Almost like your getting some extra doses from something. How did you-"

He stopped talking his eyes landing on something of importance.

"Ah dammit. Haven't had to worry about it for so long, It's made me rusty to the simplest of details. That blood you got on your shoes, THAT's what's been giving you the extra doses." He explained as he walked over and deftly took the shoes off her feet. He quickly backpedaled, as fast his limping leg would allow, holding her shoe up. Indeed, there was a piece of that first group of bugs she encountered still on her shoe, the now hardened green splotches having been lost in her mind for some time now.

She really could have died due to that?

"Secondly, try and keep yourself clean of other's bodily fluids. It's just as radioactive as the entire part of it. You got any other splotches of bodily fluids on you?"

"I don't think so…"

He tossed the shoes aside, them clattering against a wall. "Not good enough. What else did you kill that might have gotten blood on you?"

"Just some fly things. That's all I killed. They started shooting some things at me out their butt so I blew some of them up. I was facing them so if you can't see any more on me I think I'm clean."

At the mention of the bugs Mitchell's face scrunched in disgust."Ugh, Bloatflies. Nasty things, even if they ain't that dangerous. What exactly happened?"

She yawned before responding. Her eyelids felt heavy as she explained. "I blew two of them up, that's how I got those pieces on me. One was injured and fell to the ground. Then a scorpion, a smaller one, came and started tearing It apart before eating it. I didn't watch anymore after that…" She shivered again at the bug's screeches as it was tore apart. As disgusting at the things were, she had nearly been on the receiving end of that herself and actually felt some sympathy for the thing. Just barely.

Mitchell gave her an odd look again, but she didn't know why. "Hm. Well in any case, I'll need to give you a quick look over. And I do mean quick. Just to be sure."

Louise, not really having much options complied, albeit reluctantly.

The doctor was keeping his word and was moving as quick as he could, his eyes rapidly going over her form in a professional and concise manner.

"Well, good news it looks like your clothes are indeed blood free, but to be frank, they ain't gonna do much for protection, or anything else for practicality. If I were you, I'd trade them in for some caps and more reliable clothes."

Louise, hearing that suggestion again, sighed. "Trading in my clothes? You are the second person to suggest that!' She actually managed to raise her voice that time.

He shrugged. "Well, they look in good condition… for now. Fine material like that, I'd imagine Chet in the general store could give you a decent price for them. City girls, or some country bumpkins might like the idea of feeling pretty… though admittedly the small size would be an issue, but they could make some high quality pieces out of them. And just who told that before? You came out of the middle of nowhere." Mitchell questioned.

Well... they weren't NCR. She didn't see much harm in divulging that information. "A man named Lorcan and his cohorts."

"Lorcan? Lorcan Teauge? You ran into The Lost?"

She shrugged. "I didn't know who they were. But I encountered them while they fighting a group call the NCR."

Mitchell's eyes widened slightly, a sudden look of nervousness coming over him. "Oh hell… You didn't help them did you?"

"No! I only stumbled upon them as they were fighting but I hid. They found me and I was… well, not forced to watch, the leader ordered my eyes covered for that, but they killed the one person they took alive. I had nothing to do with that fight, I didn't kill anybody!" She frantically explained.

The doctor was giving her hard look, scrutinizing her probably to see if she was telling the truth. The old man's eyes taking on a hardness she didn't like. Suddenly the kindly old man that had been in her presence was gone, that look speaking of hard experiences. Her already dry throat now feeling as if the entire desert had found it's way there.

He stared at her for an unsettling amount of time before finally they softened. "Hmm. Well, for all of our sake you better be telling the truth. We've already had one person drag our town into something we had nothing to do with."

She sighed in relief. "That's why they didn't follow me if that helps. Lorcan said that was why they couldn't escort me to this town in case another group of them followed the tracks here. He didn't want to implicate Goodsprings."

The doctor grinned at the news. "Heh. Awfully nice of him. Always did wonder what happened to him to make him hate the NCR as much as he does. He was always polite to us, and he never really did seem the type for violence. Even if he does have the face of a thug." Mitchell explained.

Still feeling a bit rattled form the look he gave her Louise asked a question hoping to move on. "Was he a resident here?"

Mitchell shook his head. "Oh no. He was a frequent visitor though. I had a few conversations with him here and there and I was honestly surprised when I found he started a gang called The Lost. Bunch a people with a chip on their shoulder for the NCR. I can't say for certain if it's deserved or not though. I can't deny they've done stuff to build a less than savory reputation with the Mojave. Maybe it's something like Bitter Springs…" The doctor mused

She had no idea what 'Bitter Springs' meant, but the name itself spoke little of anything good. Just more politics of this world, and she was barely picking this much up. She already made up her mind: She wasn't getting involved.

"Hopefully, they will understand if they come here. But even then, you did nothing wrong. Hopefully if they come snooping around they'll see that. They should. NCR does have a lot of decent folks in it. But I can't rule out problems from you arriving here. They also got a lot of pushy people in them, and well, I'm not gonna lie: Goodsprings already got in a fight over sheltering someone. But even that was against a bunch of thugs. Soldiers on the other hand..."

There was a thoughtful silence from him for a moment.

"Well, hopefully nothing will come of it. For now, let's just wait on that Radaway to work it's way through your system. After that, you should probably get something to eat and drink. And something other than sugar bombs. All that sugar on an empty stomach? Nothing good will come of that." Mitchell explained.

Louise let out another yawn.

"How long will that take?"

"Not too long. You should start feeling the ahem, 'call of nature' when it's ready."

'Call of nature'? Was that? No… Oh Founder, she could already tell she wasn't going to enjoy this...

"Once it's done, we'll work on getting some food and drink in ya. And then on getting you some jobs here."

Louise was silent, a new worry in her mind.

Mitchell walked out of sight, then returned with a strange looking contraption with a needle on it.

"Now, Before I forget, let's get this simpak out of the way."

...

* * *

In a few minutes after he warned her, and after he administered the strange medicine known as a 'stimpak ' to her leg and chin, Louise was forced to heed the 'call of nature'. In less tactful terms, that meant squatting over a bucket and peeing what felt like her entire body weight in water.

That said, she was thankful it was just urine and not something like diarrhea. Though the volume she had expelled was not something she had enjoyed. Where did all of that even come from? She was dehydrated for Founder's sake!

When she was done she looked around, only to find some odd paper... things. They looked like small green brown pieces of paper with what looked like barely readable numbers and faces on them. Well It was better than nothing Regardless, Louise did her business and went on her way.

When she exited and returned to Mitchell, he gave her a knowing and sympathetic look. "I know, Radaway itself could be considered enough of a deterrent for getting radiation. I still get flashbacks to my early days outside the Vault whenever I go in that room…" He shuddered at the mention of them.

"But at least you bought yourself some time. But..."

"It's just delaying the inevitable, is that it?" Louise finished.

"…yes. Yes it is. You're still picking up radiation just by being here, but if you learn to manage it, and not have a constant source of it on ya, I think we can work something out. Remember, I've had to deal with cases like this before. Long time ago mind you, but it's still in my head."

"And just how many who were allergic to radee ashon survived?" She asked bitterly.

"Now don't think like that. More of them are still alive today than you might think. Now admittedly, they do have specials needs because of their allergy, but it's still possible. And who knows, you might get lucky and eventually gain a resistance to it. That's what happened to me."

She yawned. "And how long did that take?"

"A fair amount of years. Around thirty after I first set foot in the wasteland. I still think most of us got off easy. But let's not talk too much about that. Your eyelids look like they're trying to relocate to the floor. Let's get some water in you, and I think you should at least take a nap, sleep some of this day off."

She wanted to say so much more. But her exhaustion was slowly claiming her, another yawn not helping her will at all, with every second and in her state she was forced to comply once more.

"Let's get this over with…" She said, her voice matching her feet in the audible drag.

The first order of business was getting water in her, but only in sips. Thankfully Mitchell had purified clean water, although that was a relative term for her, and he was strict about her only taking sips, lest her stomach decided to return it to her in a foul manner.

That was a problem he had explained to her though. EVERYTHING in this world was contaminated with 'radee ashon' from the food and water, the beds she would have to sleep on. And she wasn't used to any of it at all. But it would have to do. She was far too tired to care at this point. Even with the hunger starting to cause pains in her abdomen. She sipped the last of her water down before being guided to a bed she could lay down on.

It was smelly, lumpy, stained, and apparently covered in radee ashon, but her exhaustion ensured she was asleep in one minute of laying down, the old smell of the mattress being the last sensation before darkness claimed her.

...

* * *

The pink haired girl awoke with a frightened yelp, her eyes wide and her heart racing in her chest. Her eyes began scanning the room rapidly before landing on a figure and locking on. Her breathes came out rapidly, her hands gripping the bed.

'Whoa, easy there! Your safe Louise, calm down!" Mitchell exclaimed, the chair he was sitting in being pushed back a little from the speed in which he got up.

Her eyes stayed locked on him as kept his distance. As soon as her faculties came back to her.

"…Sorry…." She bowed her head and brought her knee's close to her.

"Yeah, I figured that would happen. You were tossing and turning quite a bit in your sleep. Mumbling… didn't sound pleasant. And you were crying a bit too."

"Crying?" She asked. She brought her hand to her face and indeed there was some moisture under her eyes.

"Oh…"

Mitchell sighed in sympathy. "I know. The first days out of my Vault were nothing but fear. My home had been taken from me and I was forced into the unknown, with only stories of what was waiting for us out there. Maybe you're not from a Vault, and I can just barely accept that, but I have a feeling that's close to the situation for you isn't it?"

He looked at her expectantly. It was... sweet of him, what he was doing. She supposed she should count herself that someone was taking an interest in her well being. Someone other than a gang member.

"…yes. It's a bit more complicated than that though. It's however a very outlandish situation, one that I myself can hardly accept, and I know it's true." She stated.

"Well, would it explain why you don't know some of the basic basics of the wasteland?" Mitchell mused.

She she tell him? Would he even believe her? "It… well… like I said, it's not something that I think you will even believe. Forgive me for withholding it, but I do not feel comfortable talking about it."

"Well, alright, fair enough. Your business is your own. But what exactly are you going to do? I have sympathy for you, believe me, but you got to understand, the medicine I gave you isn't cheap. Now don't worry, the first one was one the house, but given your condition, going on past experience, you're probably going to end up with another need for a dose in about a week, week and a half if you manage to avoid any large doses of radiation. How were planning on earning the money?"

"Well, Lorcan said that there were some odd jobs here in town that would be suitable."

"Yeah, there is. Just be warned though, it can vary from day to day depending on how much travelers come through here. You might not get even get full pay from Trudy, assuming she hires you, some days. Though I suppose you can do what our guest courier did and help out with some ranch hands around town. I'm sure they'd appreciate it."

Louise nodded. Hardly the most glorious work, but it would do if she managed to get enough currency to keep herself medicated and fed and sheltered she would take it. But what about lodging?

"Is there an inn I could stay at?" Wait... She didn't even have any money! How would she even be able to afford a room? Gah!

"No, not in this town. Primm, a town a ways south of here, maybe, but then again, the Bison Steve wasn't exactly good, even by wasteland standards. But I got some spare beds in this here house. I'll only have to kick you out if I get a sudden influx of bite victims from Geckos, but even as numerous as they are rarely require serious treatment so think you should be fine."

She nodded. She had a bed and lodging. Already this place seemed like something she never wanted to leave, and the bed smelled horrible to her!

"Chet might be a bit of a stickler though. Town under threat from raiders and he still hesitated about giving the defenders some leather armor. Though that courier managed to persuade him. I think him heard him mutter 'idiot slap' about him. Chet's a good guy, but he can be a bit too… materialistic sometimes." Mitchell said.

She scowled. A merchant. Lovely.

A sudden look came over Mitchell however.

"That reminds me. Try and win people over. After the Powder Gangers came knocking for Ringo, people might be wary having another stranger in town so soon. Especially with some… eccentricities about her."

She shifted uncomfortably. Not just because part of what he said sounded like gibberish to her, but he was right.. She was in an unknown in a hostile place. She had a very distinct feeling that going around ordering people would not get her far.

"Now I'm not saying walk on eggshells, but be polite, and do go looking for trouble and people should warm up to you quick enough. Sunny Smiles is the one you want watching your back. She's our main outdoors gal along with her dog Chyenne. Keeps the town clear of critters for the most part. Good friends with Trudy, the saloon owner. You get Sunny on your side, Trudy should come around eventually. And you get Trudy on your side, everyone else will feel safer. She's the person people look up to in this town. Not quite a leader, but close."

Louise needed to start. "I am feeling well enough to walk. If you would allow it, I would like to get started on finding some work."

"Well sure. Probably best to get started on finding work as soon as possible. Those rads ain't gonna wait and neither should you." He stated.

"Here, put these boots on. Should tide you over until we get that gunk washed off your shoes."

She took them and slipped them on. Surprisingly they fit and with the motivation properly set she grabbed her wand and followed him as he walked out the door.

...

* * *

The inside of the house was hardly dark, the various windows only barely covered by boards, but when she stepped out it felt like she had stepped from a pitch black room to a fire in her face and her eyes having a burning sting to match that description. She instantly closed them, but the sun shone through her eyelids regardless and her pupil was in silent agony. She had to physically turn away from it until the light slowly got to a manageable level and she was able, though still squinting, to gaze onto the town properly.

It was ramshackle by any standards. A lone windmill stood in the center overlooking the sleepy town of what looked like old buildings with some patchwork on them. A gust of errant wind send some dirt into the air, even making a small swirl of it between the row of buildings off to her left. There was a few people out and about, some were tending to crops inside some fenced areas and she could see some livestock, albeit one's she had never seen before, milling about just outside the town with some people watching over them. For just a moment she could believe she was back on her own world. This was the very picture of a commoner village. But she was reminded that it wasn't so by some odd looking light coming from the farthest building on her left.

"Welcome to Goodsprings Louise. Not Vegas standards but I hope you can find it to your liking. The local wildlife are quite attracted to the color pink as well." Mitchell said with a chuckle.

Oh ha ha.

"All joking aside the saloons the farthest building on the left. Trudy runs it. Come on I'l introduce you... actually wait, you met her before. She was the one who brought you in." Mitchell said

Really? Louise tried placing her in her mind but she couldn't. All she got was a tailless scorpion and loud ringing in her ears.

He noticed her confused look."Well you were under a lot of stress at the time so I'm not surprised. Let's get going, I don't think wasting too much time would be in your interest."

The reminder of what was at stake was all the prodding she needed. She quickly got in line behind him when he spoke up.

"Remember to keep a distance from people." He said casually. Oh... right. She waited for him to hobble a few more steps before resuming her gait. As they passed their first building on their left, Mitchell explained what it was.

"That's the general store. Chet runs it. Right next door is Trudy's." Mitchell listed off. Louise barely heard him. Her attention was focused on the sight on top of the saloon.

The strange looking lights atop it. There were normal painted letters on the building that said 'Prospector' but the words right next to it 'Saloon' were hardest to make out. Mainly due to being an outlandish and foreign design. They were made of metal with a variety of colors making them stand out against the brown building. The Prospector Saloon... she had no idea what to make of this other than gawking at it.

Until Mitchell urged her on. "Come one kid, you can admire the place after we're done." Mitchell said gesturing to the door held open to the 'saloon'.

With that she gave one last look at it before going past him into the open door.

When she stepped inside, and a good ways from him as he reminded her, she was surprised to find it dark. Very dark. Inf act, she was surprised that Mitchell seemed oblivious to it. Well, that was before she saw him looking at her with a smile that was radiant even in this darkness.

"Pupil dilatation. That reminds me, we need to get you some sunglasses. The sun is hell on eye sight, maybe not right away but I can confirm that it does eventually catch up with you." Mitchell said, squinting for emphasis.

She only barely resisted the urge to snort. She'd had that happen to her, but this was ridiculous. Either the sun here was naturally stronger or that radee ashion was doing something to her, because it felt like she had been staring at for too long.

Not that she had ever done that...

Shaking her head of the thoughts she quickly followed Mitchell around the corner. Behind it was a woman with dark hair and a very plain looking dress by Louise's standards, standing behind a bar with some patrons sitting at chatting away . As soon as she came into view she could feel their gazes lock onto her and the suspicion they had struck her. Ignoring the urge to stare back at the people, she turned her attention to Trudy and Mitchell.

"Hello Trudy." Mitchell greeted with a nod of his head.

"Hey Doc. Hell of a morning wasn't it?"

"Sure was. Poor Sunny's gonna have a heck of a time moving that bug outta stinking range. Might have to cut it up and move it as pieces."

"No kidding. Not often giant radscoprions come into town. But I suppose we have you to thank for that." She said, turning her attention to Louise.

Louise flinched, and started to come up with an apology, but Trudy cut her off.

"Relax, I'm not mad. After the Powder Ganger's a dumb bug is a breeze. Though our friend had a lot to do with both of those, so maybe I shouldn't get too complacent."

Powder Gangers? She may have just noticed that now, but what a ridiculous name.

"Anyway, what brings you here? Looked like you could barely stand last I saw you."

"Well, I'll spare you the whole story right now but suffice to say, this girl is in need of a job."

The woman scoffed. "Wait really? You come barging into town tailed by a scorpion just so you can take up waiting a bar in the middle of nowhere?"

Well, when one put it that way... no that was spot on.

"Yes." She affirmed with a nod.

She stared at the pinkette before she let out a chuckle."Well I gotta admit, that's a first. But why? Working at a bar ain't exactly a thing most people trek across the wasteland to do."

"I'll cut right to the chase. She's got some medical issues, one that'll costs money to keep in check. She needs a job." Mitchell explained.

"Hmm. Well, the road north to Vegas still gets some traffic from the more courageous merchants, fast track if you steer clear enough of Fiend territory. With the road between Nipton and Mojave outpost having critters encroach again, we've been getting a bit more customers than usual. Merchants gotta take whatever they can get. I suppose I could take on a waitress and... wait, these medical issues, they aren't contagious are they?"

"No no, nothing like that. In fact it's the other way around. But she doesn't have many options. She'll need the medicine"

Trudy raised a surprised eyebrow. A brief look of concern once again passed over her. "Well... I don't see why not. But I'm not sure I'll be able to provide enough to. What kinda drugs are we talking about?"

"Radaway. And some Rad-X. And It might be a repeat buy."

Trudy winced. "Oof, that might be just a little out of my price range. Even with the increase in buyers, I don't think I'll be able to hand out enough caps to cover those. You might want to consider getting another job kid."

Louise had been expecting something like that.

"If you wanna get your hands dirty, the ranchers and farmers could always use some help looking after their herds and tending to their gardens. Hell, Sunny Smiles would definitely appreciate any help moving t hat damn bug outta the town's range, not to mention all the hunting she does. Can get a decent price for meat and hides. I'm not so sure Chet is looking for any help though. Man is a merchant through and through and he might view you as a pointless drain on caps." Trudy explained

Well, she knew that. She never had any good experiences with goods merchants. Damn glorified thieves most of the time.

"I will accept regardless... but... I might not be able to work today." She finished uneasily.

She nodded. "Sure kid. I understand. Not much happening here today anyway and we don't need you dropping everything cause you're too weak. Come back bright and early tomorrow and I'll get you started."

"You're really going to hire her Trudy?" A man asked, giving Louise a dirty look. She looked at him at the other end of the bar with two others.

"We've already had one gunfight over a stranger, she better not cause any trouble here. Will she?" Another said. The third was just silent, but he was looking at the girl with annoyance.

There was some grumbling and a few more looks sent her way making the girl flinch. Out of fear and guilt. As much as she wanted to yell at them, she couldn't deny that she very well could.

A look was passed between Trudy and Mitchell, the man's head nodded and the woman's eyes narrowing slightly. Louise had a feeling what it was about.

The woman eventually sighed. 'She's working here and that's that. I don't want to hear any more about it. Understood?" She said, eyeing them with a final look.

After another bout of grumbling and just barely acceptance Mitchell led her outside, the girl sulking slightly after what had happened.

...

* * *

"See? That wasn't so bad. Got a job out of it at least."

She shook her head. "You heard that right? They don't trust me." She said, walking behind him. They were moving into the area that held the houses, with more than a few gardens inside.

"They're just a bit frazzled. Town's been quiet for a long time and now all this commotion in the last days has people just a bit more excitable."

Louise paused. "And if the NCR _does_ come here?" She said softly.

He paused as well."Well, we'll work it out. If you didn't do anything like you said, I'm sure they'll leave you alone. Now let's get back t you business."

Louise, wanting to move on as well agreed."She said she wasn't able to provide enough to pay for my medicine."

"Well that's true. Like she said, the ranchers and farmers could use some help. It might be a bit physically demanding, but unless you got a storage of caps lying around I'm not seeing much else options for you."

He was right, much as Louise was loath to admit it. The most physical labor she had done in her life was carrying her stuff around the Academy due to her lacking the flotation magic her classmates had. A bit more than one would think actually, but she knew it couldn't compare to the work commoners did. Even the ones in the Academy probably had more muscle than her, let alone the ones that did farm work. But still, hard as it was going to be it was better than trying to survive out in the wild. She would just have to endure, as Mitchell had been repeating, she had very little choice.

"In fact, our resident knight in shining armor has taken it up as well."

The phrase caused her to tilt her head. "Wait, you have a knight? Why would a knight be in this village?"

"... It was a figure of speech Louise." He said raising an eyebrow at her.

"Oh..." Darn.

"Well as I was saying, the man who saved you is doing some farm work right now." He said pointing.

True enough, the man was tending to a garden in a fenced off area. The last she had seen of the man he ripped the tail off of a scorpion and now he was doing menial farm work as if nothing had happened. It was odd to her. He was a warrior, that much was obvious, so why do this?

"Him? Louise asked perplexed.

"Well given the state of the world, even the most dedicated of farmhands had to learn how to handle themselves, but even I gotta admit, he seems to have had a very... different occupation before. Heck, I don't even think being a courier would lend it self to riding scorpions. I just don't know..."

"He Knew how and where those troublemakers would approach. Had a... brutal way of dispatching them as well. We hardly even needed the rest of the town. He's a man with good experience of what the wasteland has to offer, I can tell you that. Sunny actually considered 'teaching' him, but he polity turned her down. She thought he was jumped by some no name amateurs, but it was the Khans. Made a lot more sense after he told us that. Great Khans are though bastards and there were five of them. Gave them a good fight though, more than one was walking away with some cuts and bruises, and I even hear than man in the checkered suit who was leading them got blood spilled on it. But five though as nails bastards against one, reality has a way of setting in. They beat him, bound him,and eventually shot him in the head."

Louise listened as the exploits of the man were listed off. He was certainly an intriguing individual... but Louise had a feeling he would be gone by tomorrow. He was a courier after all. They weren't known for staying in one place. The man worked on, heedless of their conversation.

"Well in any case how about we-"

"Howdy partners!"

The sudden voice behind the pair caused them to jump, Mitchell painfully so, and Louise let out a yelp spinning on her heels.

What greeted her was a blue colored metal abomination with a stylized human face wearing a hat and smoking a cigarette in the upper part of it's body. It seemed to be shimmering as if it weren't actually there. Two strange looking arms were at it's ides, and had three metal claws on them both. What in founder's name was this thing!? What kind of golem was this!? Was there a person trapped in there!? Was that why it had a face!? Louise felt her hands reach for her wand, the uncanny looking feature that... _thing _had unnerving her greatly.

"Whoa take it easy there, just old Vic Doc." The voice rang out. Ugh. Louise could feel her face scrunching slightly. The metallic and oddly tinged voice was grating to her ears.

She looked at him, but his look was one that left no room for argument. Mitchell gestured for her to be calm. She really wanted to blast this thing, but Mitchell had proven trustworthy so far. If he thought he could handle it, she would let him. "Hello Victor." Mitchell said, though it had a slight scolding tone to it.

"Right sorry about sneaking up on ya there. Thought I always made enough noise to alert everyone in a country mile." The thing, 'Victor' said.

"Don't worry about it, mistakes happen. Nice to see you again Victor, you rarely come away from your shack." Mitchell said. Louise coud pick up more than a little bit of forced sheer in his tone.

"Heh. Likewise saw bones. Now who's this?" The thing said gesturing to Louise, causing the girl to shrink back. She didn't want this. Oh Founder above, this thing was creeping her out. That face... it was just too easy to imagine someone being trapped in there.

"When did this little lass wander into town? Never seen her around these parts before. Or her hair. It tends to stand out in the seas of brown."

"Victor, everyone in town heard the commotion. How have did you miss that?"

"Was out for a stroll. Goodsprings seems to be quite the location for people in need these days. First I dig up that poor soul from the grave and now a little one like you walks into town?"

If that thing called her little one more time...

"Well more being chased by a radscorpion. And being saved by a man you dug up from the grave a couple days back." Mitchell said.

"Hoo wee, he doesn't waste any time getting back in the saddle does he?"Louise winced at the voice. It sounded like an electricity spell being forced through a tube and made into a voice!

"No he certainly doesn't. I'm sorry Victor, but we have some business we need to get to. No offense."

"Aw shucks, didn't mean to interrupt ya. Just wanted to introduce myself to the young lady here." It said, turning slightly towards her.

Well... at the very least it was polite enough... still Founder damn creepy in her opinion though. Whatever created this thing deserved to be burned. Nevertheless it wasn't insulting her and she did not want to antagonize it.

"My name is Louise. Louise de la Valliere. Pleasure to meet you." She said, that same forced sheer creeping into her voice as Mitchell had not too long ago.

"Likewise. Well, I figure I best mosey on and let you two finish your business. Have a fine rest of the day!." The thing said before, with surprising grace, turned and rode away on it's one wheel, kicking up a small trail of dust.

When she was sure it was far enough away she turned to Mitchell.

"What in founder's name was that?" She hissed under her breath just to be sure that thing didn't hear them.

"That was Victor. Town's local owner-less Securtitron robot. He's been here a while and no one knows all that much about him. And to be honest... well,..."

"What? Is he dangerous?" She asked, eyeing the traveling thing.

"No, no, nothing like that. But I have to agree with Trudy when she says there's something off about him. I just get the sense there's more to him than what's at face value. Sorta like you." He said, making her shrink slightly.

"But enough about that. We've got you a job. It's a start, but I think we should explore a few more opportunities before calling it a day."

Louise nodded and followed a ways behind him. But as she did, she had to confirm something.

"So... there wasn't anybody trapped inside that thing?"

Mitchell stopped, and then slowly turned his head towards the girl, an utterly perplexed look on his face.

In the garden not far away, though his head was down, the man was quietly laughing.

...

* * *

Well, the rest of the day had gone well enough. Louise found herself with a job at least. The only other one that had come up was helping a woman named Sunny Smiles patrol the town and keep it clear of 'critters' as they called them. Which included giants bugs on that list. Ugh. Still Beggars couldn't be choosers, and Sunny had assured her that the animals around here weren't all that dangerous and more of a nuisance. However, it seemed that the distrust of her was more prominent among the local ranchers and farmers. None of them were all that willing to let her work for them. So that just left her with hunting.

That, however, led to another activity she would have to contend herself with: Learning how to shoot this worlds brand of muskets. She still remembered the pistol the man wielded. She had far too many pressing concerns at the moment to truly think about the implications of such a weapon. Her home only had simply flintlock and black powder weapons that were already inaccurate and had long reloads to boot. Plenty of time for a skilled mage, or even a commoner soldier, to finish the gun wilder off. Now? This world's weapons could fire multiple shots without reloading, were much more accurate, and reloading took all of three seconds for the skilled ones.

She may have believed in the holy Founder with all of her being, but she wasn't stupid either. She knew damn well her gallivanting off into the great unknown for any reason was likely to result in her dying. And that was even if she had working magic. As it stood right now, all she wanted was to stay here. Her summoning spell brought her here, why wouldn't she try it again until it brought her home?

She felt she made a good enough impression on the people here so far, and they seemed friendly enough despite some voiced suspicions, but any further thoughts of hers was interrupted by Mitchell as they sat in his house, the doctor glad to be sitting again.

"Well we got you a job today. Another prospective job, once you learn how to shoot. It'll be close, but I think we might have what we need. I have for at least one more on the house dose, until we can get you and your reputation with the town sorted out." He said smiling.

It was close. She was grateful for his help, Founder knows she wouldn't have survived otherwise.

"Now then, what exactly is your long term plans?"

"Well... I was thinking of just staying here. It seems like a quiet enough town and that's really what I want right now. If it's okay with you."

"I don't see why it wouldn't be. Goodsprings was never known for overcrowding. If you can prove your worth to people they'll welcome you as a permanent resident with open arms."

Well... That was settled then. For the time being Goodsprings was going to be her home, and Founder damn all other things. Especially those giant bugs... she shuddered at the memory. But as long as she could maintain a good relationship with the people here, shouldn't wouldn't have to wander anymore of this damn desert.

Suddenly Louise let out a long drawn out yawn causing Mitchell to chuckle once more.

"I think you'll need more than a couple hours nap young lady. How long have you gone without sleeping?"

That... actually sounded quite enticing. She let out another yawn before responding.

"Nearly a whole day. I tried to get some sleep earlier, but I just couldn't. I kept waking up."

"Well, you can get some now. Go on." He urged smiling.

"Oh and one more thing: I'll let you keep that Pip Boy on you. I think you have the most pressing medical needs of us all right now. I'll let ya know if I need it back, but for now hold onto it."

She looked at her left arm, only now just remembering she had this thing on for quite a while. Founder she needed to sleep. She was finding it hard to remember some obvious things.

Nodding gratefully nonetheless, the events of the day stacking again with the previous one, Louise dragged her feet to the nearest bed and gently laid down, yet kept her wand close.

The smell seeped into her nostrils again as she laid down. Lying on her side, ignoring her sunburns, her eyelids were rapidly losing what will they had left to stay open.

However as they did, her eyes opened wide and she realized something she completely neglected, despite it's utmost importance.

She completely forgot how she was supposed to practice her magic!

She knew it was going to be a long time before she even got close to finding a way to get the summoning ritual to go her way. A long way full of explosions she wouldn't be able to hide.

She sighed. She should probably solidify their trust in the before she started using her magic. At the very least, try and explain it to Mitchell. He seemed to be the most helpful. And she could provide proof easy enough... but would they accept her? Would they reject her because of it? Magic didn't seem like it was commonplace on this world, if it even existed at all. She could very well be outcast for it, and given her current reputation with the town, that was likely. but she needed to do it. It was the only way.

With that plan in mind she laid back down on the bed hoping sleep would come.

It was about half an hour before sleep took over, sporadic images of her family delaying it considerably, the cries of her sister almost managing to echo in the silent of the room.


	5. A Clean Face IV

Louise awoke with a bit of a start again, but it was far more subdued than yesterdays napping. Her eyes snapped open and she quickly sat up in the bed, but her breaths weren't nearly as rapid as they had been before and she wasn't in a cold sweat. Just a regular old bad dream then. She could handle that.

She sighed. It was something at least. A good night's sleep since she actually got here helped. She stayed in that position a few moments longer before pulling her legs over the side of the bed, grunting in pain, and placing her head in her hands, her messy and greasing hair irritatingly falling over her shoulders. Her sunburns still ached, though it had dulled slightly. Not so much for her leg muscles. A day and a half of walking and running so much were making their effects known with the painful stiffness she had in her lower body. Wonderful.

And she only just now realized that she hadn't bathed in two days and that her hygiene was taking a hit. It probably already was before, but now with her senses no longer dulled by sleep, she realized how dirty she felt, her sweat and other bodily oils mixing into as if it was an uncomfortable cloth wrapped around her body. But she knew better than to ask for a bath. Desert and water equaled rationing of said water. She may not have been an outdoors girl, but that was just common knowledge.

She stayed on the edge of her bed, the first day of her starting work in this new world staring at her. Despite the necessity of the day, she still felt an old habit nagging at her. A bad habit. A lazy, sitting in bed habit. It wasn't until Mitchell came by that the urge to simply stay in bed faded.

"Ah good, you're up already. Here I thought you'd be sleeping in, but you're almost an hour early. Trudy doesn't open until eight o clock."

She was early? That was new.

Looking at him Louise sighed. "That's better than how I usually am. It used to be I was nearly late waking up every morning." Even during the most critical parts of school, Louise De la Valliere was never a morning person, and she usually found herself sleeping in. It was only her study ethic that prevented from being late more often than she was.

"Heh, people who have that are few and far between these days. Even city folk aren't known for being all that heavy sleepers." Mitchell said.

Not even cities warranted true peace at mind? Wonderful.

"Well in any case, you've got some time before Trudy opens up the Saloon for business. You should probably get something to eat. Just a few minutes up and I can already hear your stomach growling."

Another growl followed that statement to accentuate his point. Louise felt her blush light up the room.

Another smile was on the doctors face, his white mustache only just now grabbing Louise's attention. And only now did she truly notice how many wrinkles his face held. He truly did seem far older than she remembered.

"Come on, I don't think you want your reputation ruined by your own stomach being a nuisance. There's some food that Sunny brought up not too long ago. And don't worry. Consider it on the house." He said as he walked back to the kitchen.

Louise, battling still aching sunburns and stiffness got up with as much grace as she could manage. Which was about a horse with two lame legs, and some raw skin.

She walked through the house and once again, now that her mind was free of sleep deprivation, she began taking in a lot more details that had slipped her mind earlier and sent home just how odd this world was.

It was in a state of disrepair, similar to that building she took shelter in her first night here. Paint was peeling, cracks in the walls, a general sense of old age and decrepit was in full effect. The house seemed stable at least, but it made her think more about this world.

Why were they like this? Come to think of it, she had heard words like 'old world' and 'Wasteland' thrown around. With her newly cleared mind, the implications of those words were far clearer and far more terrifying to consider. What happened here? What made everything like… _this?_

Well, unfortunately, discussing this world in more depth would be a good thing to do. Granted, that would likely make her look far more odd than she already did, but that wasn't going to be a problem for much longer if she could help it.

Following the doctor down the hallways to another room, he limped over to another strange looking container like thing with a handle on it. Pulling it open Mitchell reached inside and pulled out a plate with what looked like some meat. The aroma, though slightly bitter, was enough to get her eager, her stomach rumbling again for her to start eating.

"Here. Some Gecko steak. Freshly cooked by Sunny. That dead bug is starting to attract scavengers, but at least were getting something good out of it. But before that…" He placed the meat on his table and right next to it was a bottle of an unknown liquid.

"This is Rad-X. This medicine will help increase your body's ability to resist radiation. I figured with that new job requiring you to be near people, it wouldn't hurt to have some extra protection. Not to mention protecting you while you eat some food. It should raise you rad resistance to just below that of an average Wastelander. For the time being at least. You'll still be absorbing rads, but at a much slower rate."

Louise stared at the drug vial in the doctor's hand. Really? That was all it took?

"If it's that effective, then why didn't you use that earlier?"

He sighed, and Louise suddenly felt a lecture coming, as if from a teacher.

.. she missed that.

"Because I don't have a lot of it. Louise, the most our town has ever had to deal with is the gecko and coyote bites, and the occasional radscorpion wandering into town. None of us ever venture into radiation hot zones. If I used this when you weren't going to be exceptionally vulnerable it would be a waste. You're going to have to be in close proximity around other people and we've already established why that's going to be a problem for you. Not to mention having enough to protect yourself while you eat and process food. I made a call to save this for when, for all intents and purposes, you _will _be going into a hot zone. The bar yesterday was fairly empty, but mornings are usually far busier. Traders usually come and go in that time to avoid the heat, and trade while they can and set off before the hotter hours of the day. And it _is_ fairly expensive."

Oh. Of course it was. That was the whole reason of her getting a job after all.

"I can give you a small dose that should last for your entire shift. At least the morning part. Don't forget, we also got an evening shift to worry about."

Nodding, Louise silent held out her arm and let the doctor approach.

He dabbed the spot he was to prick with a cloth smelling of whisky and with just a little prick, the needle was In her arm and the substance injected straight into her vain.

Pulling the needle away, Mitchell smiled at her. "There. All done. Now how about getting some food in ya?"

Louise didn't need to be told twice. With barely restrained urge to grab the steak and simply stuffing the entire meat into her mouth, she picked up the fork and knife beside her and began carving the steak up into pieces. It was tougher than she was used to, the meat taking some effort to cut, of a gecko apparently and she only just realized what that bit of information entailed, IE larger than she was used to geckos. Nevertheless, she was able to get a piece more appropriate for her.

As soon as it made contact with her mouth, there were tears nearly sprung from her eyes, and her mouth began salivating a river. The smoked flavor was permeating her very being! Soon, she discarded the utensils and used her bare hands to hold the meat while she chewed with a strength she didn't know she possessed.

Mitchell meanwhile had a smile on his face and leaned back in his chair as he watch the girl eat with enthusiasm. She didn't really care how she appeared at the moment, she wanted food now!

"Not one for gecko meat myself. More of a coyote lover. Though I must admit, Gecko eyes are quite the delicacy. Too bad Sunny and Trudy like to eat them all..."

On any other occasion hearing that would have caused the girl to gag, but as it stood, her hunger was such that she kept eating. She had only heard the phrase 'hunger is food's best condiment' once before, but Founder above, it was in full effect.

It took a surprisingly short amount of time for the girl to finish the meat and looking quite surprised herself when she did. Her hunger was at least satisfied. But when she looked for seconds, she found her plate and barely used utensils being picked up away from her. Already the lingering smokey flavor and smell were making her stomach demand more.

"Sorry, but that's all for now. One more thing we gotta make sure is letting your body adjust to the all of the contaminates of the wasteland. Only one meal in the morning and one in the evening. Else there's a good chance your digestive system, and waste system could get an infection. Or possibly your kidney's giving out from the extra stress from filtering out the pollutants." Mitchell explained.

Louise looked wide eyed at the statement. Oh founder _more _medical problems? Next she would be hearing that simply breathing could be a problem.

"I didn't enjoy it when it happened to me, but it's-"

"Necessary. Right. I understand." She said, closing her eyes.

"Good." Mitchell said as he carried the plate over to the counter and began cleaning them off with some water.

As he did, Louise wondered how she should go about this. revealing her magic, and origins. She already decided that Mitchell was her best person to start with. Out of all the people in this town he seemed to trust her the most. And, well, he was the one who had the most authority on her medical state, something she sorely lacked. She still wasn't sure what everyone's reaction to her magic would be. Back home, everyone respected magic. It was a sign of being blessed by the Founder and with it, a innate duty to protect people.

But here? People were already on edge with her without magic. If it became common knowledge that this pink haired interloper could cause explosions at will, she could find herself in very hot water.

But she had to. Her magic brought her here and it was the only way she could see herself getting back home. She had to do it, and it had to be on her terms. Taking a breath she took her first steps toward it. She opened her eyes.

"Listen… Doctor Mitchell… I wanted to thank you." She began getting the man's attention.

"I know it must be very strange taking in some such as me, but I appreciate what you, and the town, are doing for me. I truly do."

He was looking at her for her to continue, so she did.

"I know I am strange and I feel as if I owe you some honesty about that subject but…" She sighed. "It is a complicated affair. But before we get to that I feel I should thank you… sincerely."

"You don't have to-"He began, but Louise cut him off.

"No I do. I may not know much about… well this 'wasteland' ,but I can understand the fact that taking in someone like this, especially with recent events, must be difficult and I want you to know I appreciate it."

"Well… you're welcome. I do admit, your rad resistance has been itching at my curiosity."

"About that. As I said, it is complicated. But after I finish my first shift today, I can tell you. I promise."

"Well alright. I appreciate that as well."

"I will." She said with certainty. She just hoped that when she did, it went as smoothly as it could. She was optimistic, Mitchell seemed reasonable, but there was always a chance that he could turn on her. She had not forgotten how he reacted when she told him of the NCR. Maybe she could do more with getting to know him.

In the interest of building more of a rapport between them Louise asked about the elderly doctor. It also served as an effective way to pass time.

Mitchell, seeing as he would get his own answers about her began to tell her what he knew.

...

* * *

"You were kicked out of your own home!?" Louise asked with genuine shock. Mitchell had told her the tale of him growing up in an apparently underground complex in a city called New Vegas. The city's overseer, Mr. House ,having apparently been responsible for taking his home away. Given recent events, it wasn't hard for the Valliere girl to sympathize with the doctor.

The doctor nodded, a twinge of sadness here and there, but for the most part the doctor merely told it without much fanfare. "Yeah, nothing we could do. I myself was one of the few who wasn't a gambler, but that's how we settled things for so long I didn't see the harm. But luck was against us and House was quick to enact the terms. The entire lower section he filled with concrete and turned the upper parts into a hotel. Some took it hard, and that was before the medical issues set in for most of them. Others were unhappy, but accepted it as it was. House was nice enough to let a girl who had lived there run the hotel, so there's that. I hear she's doing well for herself too. Lot of people wanting that innate security a Vault has."

Louise was on the edge of her seat, and this wasn't even a story with any action it. Just the things Mitchell had explained to her. Heck, even the base concept itself was amazing. An entire village like complex beneath the ground, enough to house over a thousand people! Granted, mages could eventually work their way to that themselves, but Louise was trying to picture how it would look with their style. From just what little she had seen of those odd objects on the Saloon and that… thing rolling around outside she imagined a boxy, utilitarian nature. Ugly, but still, she wouldn't mind seeing one for curiosity's sake.

There was another thing Mitchell had brought up, and the reason the Vaults were built in the first place. War. He didn't delve too deep into it, just calling 'The Great War' but it was enough. A war waged with weapons powerful enough to turn the world into 'The Wasteland' she had seen firsthand. One giant desert contaminated by radee ashon. Though maybe it was just the locale.

The Mojave seemed to fare unusually well, its city mostly unaffected by the war and its aftermath which was odd to her. House had it fortified and resided in a building called The Lucky 38 the tallest building naturally. A ruler had to have a throne in any world it seemed.

Mitchell explained that these Vaults were created by the Old World's governments in preparation for a war such as the one that had occurred, but it seemed that Mitchell had come across others in his journeys in the wasteland and they had not fared nearly as well. Some were overrun with creatures, others seemed to fail internally. Only one other seemed to survive in the wasteland and they turned into a xenophobic isolationist group with powerful weapons and called themselves The Boomers. Cannons it sounded like. Really powerful cannons. What had he called them? Howeetzers? Mitchell had even said that in his final days of traveling, he had found a vault with a sign outside warning others to stay way with the words 'The Plants Kill' being the only warning. All in all, Vaults were something that seemed to attract doom and if not that, something bad seems to happen because of them.

Louise shuddered at just what lay in that vault and hoped it never crawled out. But still, the way Mitchell described the Vault he lived in was certainly intriguing. An underground city where people. It was her natural curiosity really. Even if it wasn't magic, she wanted to know about it.

For the moment though, she was more concerned on the doctors unfortunate eviction.

"How could he do that?" She asked shaking her head in contempt.

"Well, the Securitrons pointing their weapons at us helped." Mitchell snarked. "House has a problem with groups of people that cause trouble. Or could cause trouble. Or just ones that he feels like they need to if they have something he wants. That last one was use more than anything. He stripped the Vault of it's primary computer systems. Guess even he needs raw materials to work with sometimes."

Louise nearly gagged at the mention of those things, but it also caused her to pause and consider his words.

"Wait, one of _those_ things? You mean like Victor? Isn't that a bit odd?"

He nodded. "It IS odd. Securitrons are the main method of peacekeeping House uses in Vegas. No other facility in the wasteland, as far as anyone can tell, has them. New Vegas is the only place you'll see them in large numbers."

Louise frowned. She didn't like the sound of that. She was already wary of that thing before but now, even as inexperienced as she admittedly was in the political field, it sounded like Victor really did have some ulterior motive. This House person did not sound like someone she wanted to cross. A king of the region she would do well to avoid angering. One more reason to stay here really.

"Why are you not more concerned about this? Why are you not worrying about that thing turning on you?"

"Because why would he? Goodsprings is an out of the way backwater even by wasteland standards. The only thing we got going for us is the uncontaminated natural spring just south of town. And even then, what could we do? If House really wanted to, he could send just a few more and wipe our town out. I do have my suspicions about Victor, but he hasn't done anything to us and we want to keep it that way. Throwing the first punch won't do anything useful."

That was… a really good point. She didn't even want to think about how many more of these things were waiting in this city of Vegas. Enough to keep the peace it sounded like. An army of golems against simple commoners with pitchforks and knives was an apt comparison. And these things likely had some form of advanced muskets hidden away somewhere. She had to be on guard around that thing.

"What about this House person. What is he like?"

"No one knows. No one's seen hide for hair of him since New Vegas was formed. His base, the Lucky 38, has been sealed for as long as anyone can remember. His Securitrons are his intermediaries."

Mitchell looked tot he window, seeing the sun becoming brighter. "But, I think that's all we have time for. It's almost eight o' clock. But before you go, let's go over how to use your Pip Boy. Didn't think you'd remember anything if I explained it to you yesterday."

She looked down at the thing on her wrist, completely forgotten to her, which as odd considering how much it weighed.

"Now, these buttons…"

...

* * *

Mitchell was right to hold off on the explanation until today. This Pip Boy on her arm was simple enough to operate, but Louise would not have had to mental faculties to remember everything.

Really the thing that gave her the most trouble was the 'screen'. That cursed shimmering eyesore. She didn't know what it was up with it, but looking at the screen with its unnatural light hurt her eyes somewhat and she had no idea why. It wasn't a major issue and it more an irritant than anything else, but still, even this thing wasn't immune from giving her problems.

Well, just another thing for her to put up with it seemed. She was pressing buttons and turning knobs on the thing, practicing how it operated as she walked towards the Saloon.

The main worry was her radee ashon levels which was under 'stats'. A few buttons presses and knobs twists and she was able to view whatever manner of things this object provided. Most of the other things, like this thing somehow knowing what she held, and several other features, wasn't much use to her at the moment.

She had to admit, for people with no magic, this was truly astounding. A device that could monitor the body's condition, reporting on any injuries or general maladies that could go unnoticed by the user. In her case radee ashion.

With a final button press she came to said screen, the amber outline of a stylized man with a smile on his face. She wish she could share that enthusiasm, even if it was a bit condescending to her.

Scanning the information she eyed the part most relevant to her at the moment. Her radee ashon levels. The tiny 'click click clik' of the thing on her arm was irritation when she brought it up, but it did confirm she was absorbing the invisible poison. Though Mitchell said, without and extra source like a piece form a bug, it was going up far slower than it was before. Still a problem, but what could she do?

Earn money for medicine came to mind. She practiced the motions a few more times, periodically bringing her head up to see where she was going.

However as she was about to enter the Saloon, a sudden voice caught her off guard.

"Howdy little lady."

She jumped, that phrase instantly making her think of that accursed machine, her heads rapidly turning to the voice.

An older wrinkled man, was sitting in a chair next to the door, an a mused smile on his face as he watched Louise jump . His skin color was similar, but this man had a bright white bushy beard with a some noticeable speckles of dirt here and there. His wrinkled face spoke of years under the sun, and the movement even in his old age spoke of dealing with threats should they arrive.

"Hello." She said, trying to save face.

He chuckled and tipped his hat, a gesture Louise actually found herself recognizing. "Morning young lady."

Well, this was unexpected. A person with curtsy.

However, his face was coming back to her. Wait a minute… it finally clicked."It was you who threw those odd explosives at the monster yesterday wasn't it? I never got around to thanking you for that." best to try and make a good impression, she remembered.

"Ah, I'm only responsible for throwing the dynamite at it. The real hero is inside, just fixing to set out." He said simply.

"Regardless….thank you." She said bowing slightly.

Nodding silently was his only response. With one last curious glance towards the old man she opened the door and stepped inside.

At the very least the sun wasn't as bright as it was yesterday and it wasn't as bad as going into a darker building. Still ad to wait for her eyes to adjust though.

"You sure you're feeling good enough to travel?" A female voice said.

Blinking a few times, Louise focused her attention forward, where the voices where coming from.

"Yes. I haven't had a dizzy spell since yesterday, all of my limbs are functioning. I see no reason to linger around here."

'Well as long as you-" The blonde woman stopped talking as soon as she saw Louise. The man lazily turned to her, suggesting he was already aware of her as she walked inside.

"Oh there she is. Louise right? I'm Sunny Smiles." The woman introduced. Her blonde hair was in a loose bun, strands of hair sticking out the backm and her face still had a fair amount of dirt on it. The woman herself gave a vibe of a woman who spent her days mostly outside and cared little for how she looked. The dog by her side helping her outdoors girl impression.

"Ah, hello." She greeted, here eyes moving over to the man and taking in his appearance.

He was tall. At least six feet. His skin was dark, dark as the older man outside, but his face didn't have the amount of wrinkles as the previous man, though she definitely could see some, and more on the way, but some youth seemed to stubbornly hold on. His head was mostly shaved, except for an odd choice of hairstyle that Louise had never seen before. It was a strip of hair right down the middle of his head. Then again, in a desert environment, it made sense to keep one's hair as short as possible. He had a mustache under his nose and a short scruffy beard on the bottom of his chin. His dark brown eyes almost caught her attention, where it not for the miscolored flesh on the side of his head. It was a knob that gave a painful feeling in her own head just by looking at it. And this man survived it? She was starting to wish she hadn't noticed it at all…

She must have been staring at it, because the man mentioned it. "What? Is my brain leaking out?"

That imagery was not needed. "W-what? No!"

"Are you sure?" He asked, rubbing his wound for emphasis. Louise was never one for wounds, really who was, but seeing him picking and prodding it was too much for her. It brought up some unpleasant memories for her, and she found herself gagging soon.

"Oh Founder stop!" She exclaimed, bringing a hand to her mouth.

He brought his hand away revealing it to be fine. She knew that dammit, they were misunderstanding her displeasure! Regardless, both adults present began laughing. Well, the woman did. The man was chuckling mostly, and he had a bright visible smile on his face.

"That was kinda low." She said, in between giggles.

"Maybe. Still funny though." He said grinning.

"Oh definitely." She said with a smirk, her dog barking in agreement.

"No, That wasn't funny!" The mage exclaimed, nearly stomping her foot in protest.

"Two against kid" A bark sounded off. "Sorry, three against one. It was funny."

She was still fuming, but she had enough sense to bottle it up when she noticed the other patrons at the tables giving her a look. She remembered that she needed to build a rapport here. She exhaled deeply through her nose in an attempt to calm herself down.

"Well, on that entertaining note, I'll be taking my leave now." The man said.

"You're heading to Primm right?"

"Well yes. They must have another job opening by now. They won't like to hear what had happened but-" Sunny cut in, a surprised expression on her face.

"Wait… you're not gonna chase down the man who shot and robbed you? The hell were you carrying, spit soaked dirt?"

"No. The package was certainly a loss, but it was my first one in quite some time. My pride is wounded just as bad as my head to be honest. This was hardly the first package that got bushwhacked in the wasteland, and I never made letting ambushes make a habit of robbing me. Only one other time in my ten years working for the Mojave Express did I get robbed. And that turned out to be a bomb anyway. The one who took it had just enough time to figure that out roughly the same time I did, judging by the look on his head when it landed next to me. That lead to some interesting things down the road." He said, an almost wistful look in his eyes and tone of voice.

"Wait seriously?" Sunny asked incredulously. Louise had to admit, as morbid as it sounded, that truly was an intriguing sounding tale.

"Yes. But I digress. The point is, my track record is good enough that I won't be docked too harshly for this. Probably have to take up some extra jobs to make up for it, nothing I can't handle." He said.

"Well good. Hate to have Doc put all that effort into saving ya, only to be shot again by your employers."

"Rest assured, from here to Hub, I have a reputation as a trustworthy courier. Might have to regain some of that, but, ah well. Such is life in the wasteland." He said shrugging.

He paused, seemingly in thought. "Then again… the price _was_ good money. I might still set out after it. I'll see how my opportunities play out." He said.

"Well good luck. And thanks again for driving off those Powder Gangers. And watch out for their friends. They got to be getting desperate for supplies from what I hear from traders so keep an eye out."

The man nodded silently. He grabbed a nearby backpack off the table, as well as an odd looking musket, and he began walking towards her, his belongings jangling somewhat. Looking closer at his pack, she realized there were some traps she had seen before strapped to the side. A trap with sharp metal jaws. She had seen those before... and their effects. On animals only, but the dried blood on them looking brighter than old blood was. Mitchell did say he had a brutal way of dispatching some of those Gangers. She was suddenly glad she wasn't around for that.

His destination was the door. He wasn't paying any attention to her at all.

Despite that prank earlier, Louise still felt she should express her gratitude. He was the man who had come running in to her rescue after all. When he was right next to her she spoke up. "And thank you… for saving me." She said.

The man stopped. He looked at her for a few seconds. He nodded, and then proceeded out the door, it closing behind him with a thud.

Only pausing for the briefest of seconds Louise turned back to the interior. The woman, Sunny, along with her canine companion, were watching her.

"So, you're Trudy's new busgirl huh? You really came out of the middle of nowhere just to do that?"

"Well, I need money for Radaway, and I don't feel like I'm ready to go back out into the wild just yet." She stated.

"Yeah, Mitchell told me about that. Said you needed some help with learning how to shoot too. Well if you want, I could show you how to handle some guns in my spare time."

"Really? Well… I would like to, but I am not blind to the costs of doing so. Surely bullets cost money... and I think I might need a lot of practice." She said.

"Well if you're planning on sticking around like you said, just pay me back when you can. Coyotes and Geckos are pretty damn plentiful around here, so a few hunting trips should make up the difference pretty quickly."

That sounded doable. Not pleasant, but she knew she would have to get used to such things quickly.

'Anyway, we can talk business later. Gotta get to work getting that bug cleared outta town's range. Still trying to find all the pieces from the explosions that got scattered about. Come one Chyenne!" She called out, the dog by her side suddenly up and trotting after her.

With that business taken care of Louise walked to Trudy's bar. Walking around the corner, Louise came into the bar area of the saloon. It was mostly deserted, save for one person seemingly slumped over asleep. Behind the counter stood the woman, her black hair looking still a bit bedraggled. Her clothes seemed... nicer. At least, it seemed it may have once been of high quality, but now she could see the patchwork keeping it together. The woman herself seemed more kempt, but she still had a feel of 'dirty'. Louise didn't judge too harshly though. She knew she was well on her way to that state herself.

She turned to face Louise once she saw her approaching.

"Ah good morning Louise. Gotta admit, I had some doubts if you'd show up today. Though you might be too sore and tied from yesterday. You don't really strike as a girl who's in to wandering."

She sighed. "You're not wrong about that. Yesterday was... an off day for me, let's say. I need to get started as soon as possible. This poison isn't going to wait for me, and I can't wait around."

A smile appeared on the woman's face as she said those words. it wasn't a mocking one however. It was one of respect. "Well good. I like that attitude. If you pull your weight around here you should no trouble fitting in."

Nodding at her first official job she set off to work.

...

* * *

It was a few minutes before people started coming in, about half an hour, but not long after the first one entered the saloon, quite a few more entered. Various men and women began walking in, dust, well, dusting the floor with... dust. Picked up from their long walks here copious amounts of dirt and sand was soon was on the floor.

Quite a lot of people for a supposedly backwater town. But then, she had heard that some of the normal trading routes we're being blocked off and traders were forced to find business where they could, which was good for the town. And for her. Sadly, the smell of various dirty people in an enclosed space was not a pleasant one. She dare say, she would rather spend time in stables. Sweat from exertion, and more than a few passing of gas, from men and women, from a bunch of rough looking people with weapons strapped to them was the dominate atmosphere for the pink haired girl as she worked. Smelly, she could say, was a gross understatement.

Her legs were protesting all the while, but she persisted. But founder above they protested oh so very hard. There were a few times she had to grab something to keep herself from falling over, but she succeeded every time, so there was that. She was glad she had foregone her cape for work. It most certainly would have gotten tangled in the mess of people here.

Louise had mainly been responsible for bringing out drinks and food to patrons and washing dishes. She just wished people would stop gawking and gossiping about her hair the first few minutes they laid eyes on her. It was rather irritating feeling eyes on her, but thankfully it never lasted long. Soon they always returned to tales of their own goings on's and general business. She tried her best to be friendly, and she did at least manage a few smiles here and there despite herself.

The one odd thing was though that she was often handed extra caps from a lot of the males. Females sometimes too, but males were the dominate ones. She wasn't experienced whatsoever in this field, but she knew that usually mean that one thing. Being handed things for free. She had Zerbest to thank for that lesson.

Did they… find her attractive? Bah, how could she think that? She had no breasts, no behind, no height. Out of the kindness of their own heart? Maybe, but they were traders, merchandise and money was their ultimate goal in life and they would pursue that without falter. Besides, her skin was hardly in it's prime at the moment.

She shook heard at the thoughts. Whatever the reason, she was making a fair amount of money just from these extra handouts alone. She chose to go along with it.

For the moment everybody seemed to be satisfied. Everyone had food and drink at the moment, and the building was filled with the chatter of the all the people in it, supplemented by that odd game of 'pool' she had discovered, the clacks of impacting balls irritating her even through the rabble. She managed to take the glowing box that had people's voices in it better than she thought she should have. Better as in she only stared at it for about two whole minutes rather than running outside screaming her head off. This world must already be starting to rub off on her.

Regardless, she set to work. There was a tub of water and some surprisingly clean looking pieces of cloth. She began wiping them down, doing her best to get them clean. At least this allowed her to rest her legs, so she jumped on this whenever she could. Founder, it felt like they might fall off. Considering the pain they were giving her, Louise considered encouraging them. Regardless, she wiped down dished and glasses, and soon enough there was a pile ready to be used again.

Her work was interrupted when Trudy, who had been preparing the food, and talking with traders to find out what was going on in the wasteland, walked behind the counter with her and spoke. "You're doing a great job kid. I mean it. You've been on top of every order, every pick up, cleaning dishes, and you've provided some entertaining conversation. People really like talking about your hair. They keep bringing it up whenever I talk to them."

Louise nodded in appreciation, but blushed slightly at the mention of her hair again. Why did she have to get sent to a world with such a limited color palette in regards to hair?

"And I see you've been making some extra caps on the side. Lotta tips from the young men huh? Well that'll help. Should have expected this in hindsight. Pretty girl like you, people can't help but be a bit more loose with their money."

That caused the girl to fumble her dishes she held, thankfully none of them broke at least, and turned towards Trudy.

"W-what?"

She raised a confused eyebrow. "What do you mean 'What'? Good looking girl like you, with exotic hair and accent to boot, I think we might just more people coming here just to check you out once the traders start telling stories. Both ways apply to that statement." Trudy said smirking.

Louise, for her part, had another layer of red coming under her skin.

"M-me? Good looking? Surely you jest!" She wasn't good looking by anyone's standards, least of all herself. She was plain, average, flat chested… sunburned...

The older woman gave her a look that _oozed_ disbelief. "… you serious? Kid, I don't where you came from, but by Mojave standards, you're a damn beauty queen, even with the sunburns. And that skirt and long socks combo ain't doing that any harm. A little trashy for my taste, but hey, it works. that's what matters. Though I think you're supposed to bend over just a bit more to get the most out of it." She said grinning.

Louise's face was nearly the color rivaling that of her sunburns, and Trudy's smile now that the implications had sunk in was like a second sun.

"This is a uniform!" She tried to explain. She didn't want people thinking she was like that!

"Well no shit." It didn't turn out well.

"No! That's not what I, ugh, Please can we drop this?" She pleaded, desperately trying to get back at the dishes. How could people think that this school uniform was immodest? It was very modest! Only that damn Zerbest could corrupt it! She stole a glance at her cap bag.

...But she was getting a lot of money... Oh Founder, was she sending out signals? Did all those traders really think she was a w-

"She ain't lying." Said a voice, a smile audible despite it being invisible.

"Gah!" She jumped in place. Sunny had walked uo to the bar, a bottle of a drink in hand. She was leaning against the bar , and she had a smirk on her face.

"Just saying, from an objectively aesthetic viewpoint, you're a babe." She said winking. Founder above, she needed to stop blushing.

An indignant huff was her visible response. Well, Louise would be lying to herself if she didn't enjoy the compliments, or the extra money, on some level... but she just wasn't that type of person.

"Or maybe it's just Trudy trying to keep you around. You really do negate the natural eyesore around here." She said winking towards Trudy.

"Oh shut up you little desert rat." Trudy said, tossing a rag at Sunny. It bounced harmlessly off her.

Sipping her drink in amusement, and Louise trying furiously to hide her face in her hands.

Taking another sip, her expression became slightly more serious. "Still, you still get some looks around here Trudy. Wasn't that Irish badboy, Lorcan, chatting you up more than anyone else around here?"

At the mention of the man's name Louise stopped what she was doing. She turned to face Sunny.

"Lorcan Teauge?"

She raised an eyebrow."Yeah. You know him?"

Louise nodded. "Well… yes. I ran into him on my way here."

"All the way out there in the Wastes? What the hell was that man doing?"

... Should she? She wasn't sure if she should. Telling them her encounter might cause problems. But if they found out she was hiding that from them, that could be worse. She decided to risk it. "He and his cohorts were battling a group called the NCR."

Sunny winced. "Oh damn. Should have known. Lorcan was hardly one to hide how he feels about them. You didn't get involved did you?"She asked her eyes narrowing slightly.

Louise shook her head in the negative."No. The most I did was be present when he executed the last person alive."

At that both women grimaced, Trudy in particular looking a bit pained. "Did he? Well… shit. I don't know if it's right to judge him though, as bad as it sounds. I really don't think the time he spent around the NCR did him any favors."

"That can only justify so much Trudes. Sooner or later, you have to take responsibility for your own actions." Sunny countered.

"I know I know. But _you_ know the NCR has its share of problems. Problems that tend to blow up into even more problems and then they send people away and hoping things turn out well." Trduy said rolling her eyes.

"Do you think the NCR could come here?" Louise asked. Both woman looked at each other, uncertainty on both of their faces.

"Well, it's hard to say. I'm assuming Lorcan wandered off in another direction to not implicate Goodpsrings?"

She nodded.

"Good. They still might notice your tracks though. But, the NCR is mostly benevolent. There's good people in there, a lot of them actually, but nobody denies they got a pushy streak. And they've been mighty incompetent as of late."

"Oh? How so?" She asked. They were her main worry at the moment, so it was in her best interest to find out as much as she could.

Trudy began explaining. "Well for one thing they're spread too thin across the Mojave, that's how I see it at least. They got all these outposts watching everything, but they barely have enough manpower to keep themselves safe, let alone do much of anything for the rest of us. The roads around here have been clearer because of them, but even that is starting to go away. Becoming infested with critters again. I even heard stories from traders, just in today, that a bunch of them went rogue not too long ago. Got their hands on some serious Pre War tech too. A working vehicle, with a mounted gun to boot. Heading towards the Mojave, and they've done jack all to track them down." Trudy explained shaking her head in frustration. Louise shared that sentiment.

Vehicle? Did she mean carriage? No, she had to think in their world's terms, but nothing really came for her to compare it to. Regardless, she knew what mounted gun meant.A dangerous amount of firepower. That was mobile. Was the NCR really that incompetent? What? Why would they do that? I thought the NCR had an interest in keeping people safe." Louise asked.

"They do, but like like I said, they've been stretching themselves to the point where they can't even keep complete tabs on some basic needs. That's how the Powder Gangers came into existence. They used to be prisoners the NCR had locked up, re purposed into demolition workers and construction crews. But I hear they kept pulling guards away from the prison where they were at. The prisoners sensed the weakness, they took over, and now they got a solid base in that prison, along with all that dynamite. Fortunately our courier friend scared them off. Though to be honest…. "

She looked thoughtful for a moment at the mention of the man, and Louise waited for he to speak. But she shook the thought on her mind away. "Never mind. He killed a group that came into town looking for trouble. Barely even needed us for anything. Hopefully, they'll see Goodsprings as more trouble than it's worth to sack. But we'll still keep an eye out."

Louise still felt her head ringing from the stupidity. The NCR let criminals run amok in the countryside, and let a gang steal what she presumed to be some kind of war machine. She was starting to see where Lorcan was coming from when he ranted about them earlier. These people didn't seem fit for ruling.

"And we don't need anyone else dragging us into problems." Same a sudden voice, causing all the females to turn to the source.

A man in dirtied overalls, with a black mustache, greasy slicked back and dirtied hair was sitting at the bar. He appeared to be a simple farmer.

He was eyeing the pink haired Louise with disdain. "Ringo caused us enough problems. We don't need somebody else's."

Louise held the gaze and heard Trudy sigh. "Kenny, she's hardly being hounded by killers." Trudy said.

"But she ain't normal. Her hair, her medical needs, her eyes. Am I really the only one who noticed they were pink? You can see the damn things a mile away!"

At the mention of the iris color both Trudy and Sunny. Their eyes widened when they realized that, yes, she had pink iris.

"We already took two in, and that led to a fight. That Courier... we got lucky. That was only _after _his fight. Every time we take someone in, trouble follows."

Sunny scoffed. "Kenny, those Gangers were coming either way, bunch of hardheaded and hothead fools they were.. They know now that we won't be an easy target for them. And with all these traders and their guns around these days, I really don't think we have to worry about them. The town is hardly overcrowded and she's pulling her weight so far. I an't gonna be the one who throws her out for paranoia." Suunny said, Louise turning her head to her in shock. She was... honestly touched that the woman she had barely spoken to was standing up for her like this.

The man shrugged finishing off his beverage, and leaving the caps on the counter. "Well, when we're knee deep in the dead over this girl, don't say I didn't warn ya. And I an't the only one who thinks that way." He said Turing and walking out the door to his left.

Louise was wringing her hands. She had nearly forgotten that, when it came to Goodsprings, she still had a ways to go before she was completely accepted yet.

"Louise, don't worry about it. Me and Sunny ain't Kenny in case you didn't notice. You work for me, and unless I say otherwise, you're staying right here. Just keep doing what you're doing, and people will come around."

Louise bringing her head to face the woman offered a small smile.

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it. Just sit down for a few more minutes, and enjoy the rest of your-" She was cut off when the door opened, the ball atop jingling as it did. In walked a man with a grey bushy beard, wearing what appeared to be a similar sun protection hat around here. He was a bit fatter than most people here she noted, though that could be due to his older age. Louise could already tell something was wrong. The man seemed... dazed. As if he was having trouble focusing on things.

"Can I have everyone's attention please?" He called out, the entire congregation of people giving him their attention.

"The road north out of Goodsprings has been infested with Cazadores."

The noise level in the room raised at the mention of these Cazadores , the various people looking at their partners in concern.

He continued on, though nobody urged him to. In fact, considering what followed, she wished he hadn't."They came flying down so fast. We barely raised our guns. Dave... they stung him He screamed... so loud. Dragged him off... had to use all of my grenades just to..." The man just seemed to be rambling at this point, staring through the entire room full of people. Some began turning away awkwardly, others giving the man a sympathetic look.

"Oh hell… fucking bugs" Sunny breathed out. Louise didn't blame her. This was severely uncomfortable. But that odd choice of word didn't match up completely with the story. it sounded like bugs attacked. But that word. That word was hanging her up.

Hunters? There must have been something she was missing here. Simple bandits? But that didn't account why the people around her suddenly looked nervous. There had to be something she was missing.

The man who made the announcement wasn't standing any longer. He had walked to a unoccupied chair and sat down, his legs almost creaking with the chair with how weary he looked.

Out of her job obligations, but also out of curiosity, if she was going to be staying here it was best to know what threats she might have to worry about, she walked over to the man and spoke to him.

"Can I get you anything sir?"

He didn't hear her at first, just staring ahead. When her words reached him however, he jumped a little, his eyes locking on her. They seemed to stare at something behind her before focusing on her again and then he spoke.

"… full bottle of whisky. All of it."

Nodding, but not having a good feeling about it she went back , got his drink, and delivered it. He paid what was due, and soon he was throwing the bottle back. As Louise walked back, Trudy was watching with sympathy.

"I don't blame him. I've only seen the aftermath of Cazador attacks and I never ever want to relive that. And those were the ones were they recovered the bodies intact and not desecrated."

That didn't sound good. She was probably going to regret asking this question, but she had to. If they came here she wanted to be prepared.

"What exactly are these Cazadores?" Are they bandits? Why else would one use hunter as a way to describe something. It sounded vaguely Gallian. Maybe it was a translator issue.

And she just realized that she somehow knew their language. But what Sunny said, overshadowed that revelation by a wide margin in her books.

"Cazadores are giant wasps. Giant blackish, blue wasps with orange wings. You'd do best to avoid them Louise. Before they mutated, they were tarantula hawk wasps. Much smaller, but Mitchell says their sting was the _second highest _on the insect pain scale rating. Again, when they were smaller. Can you imagine what that must be now that they're size of a damn car?" Well she didn't have a reference for the word car, but she was still nervous regardless. Those giant scorpions provided her with all the scale she needed.

Trudy spoke up. "You really don't want to see the victims faces…" Trudy said, becoming slightly glassy eyed herself.

Louise said nothing. She turned back to the man. Louise felt herself shudder. These people were far more experienced with the wasteland and all it had to offer, and they still got worked over by it. She had envisioned the people here to be brave and used to it, but seeing that man men, his eyes... it reminded her that even these people, tough as they were, were just as vulnerable. The now quiet general area gave her sense of dread. The once active atmosphere of the saloon, now seemed just as dead as the victim of those bugs.

Sunny however had gained an even more worried expression. "Damn. If they're this close to town, I better haul ass and get the rest of that scorpion out of here. We really don't want to attract those things into town. Catch you later Trudes!" She called out as she jogged out of the room, her dog following her and tossing some caps on the table just before.

"Damn. We may have fought off the danger, but it's still out there." Trudy said biting her lip. There was a look of intense uncertainty, the woman deep in thought about something.

"What is it?" Louise asked.

He gaze snapped to Louise.

"Hm? Oh... just worried for a friend of mine. Hearing about the area getting dangerous again these days, and now with hose Cazadores... I'm just nervous about her that's all." She paused. "Look, I know this will sound strange, but If you see a woman with a weird red headpiece on, could you come get me? She's a really close friend and with all that's been going on around here... I'm just worried alright? Just keep an eye out for her and if you see her, tell me right away. I'll pay you fifty caps extra if you spot her first."

Well, it wasn't any of her business to pry into that further, and the extra pay was incentive enough. Louise nodded, causing the dark haired woman to smile.

"Thanks. I'm probably worrying about nothing. I know's she's capable, but still. I'd just like to know."

As she walked off Louise got back to her own work.

...

* * *

The rest of her shift was not too long. After the travelers got their full of drink and food, they began to set off. Some in groups of two, some larger, but always in groups. They gathered their packs, and their two headed cattle, which Louise actually found to be a tamer thing than it should be. But it seemed friendly and wasn't a bug so it's case was helped immensely.

She checked her Pip Boy, the screen flickering to life as she checked her radee ashon levels. As expected it had gone up, but by a far less amount than she had feared. That Rad-X had done its job then at least, she wasn't in danger of dying by it's invisible grasp… yet.

She did make good money as well. A hundred and five caps in a single shift! And all because of her 'good looks'. Despite her pride as a Valliere, she honestly doubted that. She just wasn't by any standards, least of all her own. Her mother and sisters had the claim to that... and she forcefully pushed those thoughts aside. She didn't need to feel that for another couple of hours.

But nevertheless, it was time to return to doc Mitchell. She still had business to deal with after all. She had asked Trudy for a break. She had said yes, but only if she was back before the next round of people were due. She needed to sweep the inside of all the dust that had gathered from everybody. A fair deal. The ranchers would see to the various droppings left by the Brahim and Louise had absolutely no objection to that.

Opening the door to his house she found him sitting on a chair, reading a book. He looked up at her, setting it down.

"Afternoon Louse. How was your first day hauling drinks around?"

She shrugged. "As well as it can be. I made quite a lot more than I anticipated. Mostly in tips believe it or not."

"Really?"

"Everyone keeps saying that... I'm attractive apparently." She said, fumbling her words at admitting that. It felt weird to be discussing this again.

He chuckled. "Cause it's true. Wastelanders were never picky, but here comes along a nearly immaculate beauty, and a hairdo you only find in the city? Louise, you learn to play your cards right, and you really might not have to worry about medicine for a good while. Normally I'm one for preserving one's decency, But I ain't blind to your needs. You just might need this edge. You don't have to sleep with them, god no, but you should practice some... 'feminine persuasion'. Lord knows my wife got us out of a lot of trouble with that." He said chuckling.

Louise found herself blushing again. This subject matter was not her favorite one. And she was hardly an expert in it regardless.

At least she had something to move on to. 'Maybe… but that is beside the point. I want to keep my word and explain some things about myself."

The mirth was gone int he doctors eyes."You sure you want to? It's you business after all."

"Yes. I don't think I would be able to keep it a complete secret anyway."

She closed her eyes, and took a breath, clasping her hands in nervousness. Of Founder here it goes.

She opened her eyes. "I'm from another world."

It sounded just as awkward and inane saying it as It did bouncing around her head. She felt herself grimace when her words reached her ears.

When they reached his, Mitchell's eyes widened, though by far less than she thought they would. The words still seemed to be causing some trouble though."Ah… hm… that's… well..."

She sighed. "Absurd? Impossible? Ridiculous? Believe me, I know. I know for a fact it's true, and even I'm having trouble accepting this."

Mitchell said nothing. He was silent for a good while, leaning back in his chair. Only his breathing and eyes blinking provided any indication he was still alive.

Finally he leaned forward. "Well, it WOULD explain some things about you. And I really doubt you would tell such a far fetched lie in the first place. But you said you also have some more proof. If you can provide that, I think I could buy what you're telling me."

"Of course. But not here. It's… something I'm not sure I want to reveal to everybody. I don't know how well everyone would take it just yet, and I don't want to scare anybody. You see..."

...

* * *

Louise and Mitchell were walking away from the town. He had suggested they head into coyote territory a bit east of it. It wasn't that dangerous, and when Louise told him what was to happen when she showed him her 'specialty' he had entailed. Mainly a crater.

He was at least taking what she had told him so far well enough. That she had magic and from another world. If she were being told that, she didn't know if she could accept it. A part of her still wanted to not accept it.

But the sky didn't lie.

It had taken her some time to actually look up at the odd sky. This world only had one moon, a white one, compared to her home's blue and red twin moons. Maybe it was out of some deep desire to try and find something to deny the reality of the situation. But seeing the sky told her all she needed to know. She truly was on another world.

She sighed in grief. She wanted to go back so much. Well, that was why she out here with Mitchell. To try and get started on that.

They had walked for about five minutes. They had just gone behind some rocks a fair ways away from the town, but Louise was sure they could still at least hear them if they made any loud enough noises. That was also why Mitchell had elected to bring along two grenades. If anyone asked, Mitchell was sure he could come up with something.

The elderly doctor looked as if he had walked far longer than he did, and looking at his limping form, Louise couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt. She didn't like doing this, but it had to be done. Though she considered that her legs screaming for walking in rough terrain again to be fair karma for it. Oh Founder...

The doctor sighed, wiping his sweat covered forehead. "Alright. Now, I hope you didn't make me walk all the way out here for nothing. Let's see what you got."

She nodded, eager to get back out of the sunlight as soon as possible as her burns were flaring again.

She raised her wand, and pointed it in front of her facing away from the town. She took a breath an chanted her spell.

"Fireball!" As the spell quickly formed and condensed on the tip of her wand, she felt a sudden sense of warmth encompass her being. Her Pip Boy suddenly started making an odd noise, an... odd sounding counter or whatnot, and by the Founder her _head!_ it felt as though she had just been punched! Even the spell was different. It seemed to be suffering the same effect as her first attempt at the summoning spell here. It was going through rapid color shifts, from red, to blue, to green, and to purple, even sometimes a brilliant rainbow. And all of that happened during the two seconds it had been building up on her wand.

Whatever the oddities were they did not detract from the results. In fact, she dare say it increased it. The explosion was _loud _as it impacted the ground, causing it to shake slightly,and sending dirt and rocks flying. She had aimed farther away to prevent that, but some sizable chunks landed dangerously close to them, Mitchell even having to step back to avoid a smoking rock falling from the air. Mitchell had seen her magic firsthand. The old doctor, having a genuine surprised look on his face eyed the crater she made.

He didn't say anything at first, simply continuing his observation of the freshly cooked earth, a little bit of steam rising from the crater and pieces that had flown away. He just continued staring. Until he started to turn back to her."Well, you got me convinced completely now. Only other option is you being some sort of mutant, but even then, your rad sensitivity is only held by people not adapted to the wasteland. And… hey you alright?" He only just now noticed that the girl had taken a knee.

She was breathing like she had just finished jogging."I'm… fine. Really." She said in between breaths. It was more the shock of that head pain than anything else. She waited until it was back to normal before she spoke. She stood back up, a perplexed expression on her face.

"But that's been happening to my magic since I first tried my attempt to get back home. It feels… off. Like something is corrupting it. Interfering with it."

He put a hand to his chin in contemplation. "You did hear that Pip Boy go off right? Might wanna check your rad level. I think that might have something to do with it."

That clicking... Oh no.

Sure enough, going to her status screen, her rad level had shot up. Not by a large margin, or even that dangerous, but it suddenly gave her a very bad feeling. That was from using her magic.

"But that means…" She trailed off, already knowing where this dreadful train of though t was leading.

"Using your... 'magic' gives you radiation." Mitchell summarized, a thoughtful hand on his chin.

"Magic is about using the elements. If everything is contaminated, that might explain how it gets combined with the spell. Or maybe ... maybe my willpower has been corrupted by the contamination...' She tried theorizing the how's and why's of this odd magical phenomenon, but in this state she couldn't do much if it. The one painful fact she had just learned was making sure of that.

"Oh Founder. I can't even practice the spell that brought me here without poisoning myself! How am I supposed to get back my world now!?" She cried out in anger and melancholy.

"Now Louise just calm down. I know this situation just got a lot less ideal, but it isn't hopeless. You still got a job, you still got a place to live, you still have a means to get your medicine. We just have to-" Mitchell had tried looking on the bright side of things.

That was until a sudden voice rang out.

"My oh my. That was quite a light show. And what's this about you being from something other than the good ol'e us US of A?"

The electric tinged voice made her snap around, already dreading who, or rather, what it was. Mitchell voiced her thoughts for her. Standing a little ways away was the blue abomination itself, it's stylized shimmering face smiling back at them

"Victor! What are you doing here!?" Louise turned her head towards the doctor at his harsh tone. She was surprised that he could actually sound angry when he wanted and not just look angry. But she wasn't that far off from feeling that way herself.

The abomination 'spoke'. "Just out for a stroll. Heard something go boom over yonder, and I may have been guilty of hearing some personal information about the misses here. Truly sorry about that little lady."

It rattled off in that cheery tone again, but Louise just felt like someone had frozen her midsection with an ice spell. This thing had seen her... THIS THING HAD SEEN HER! Fear coursed through her.

It soon began melting away, being replaced with a sort of anger she hadn't felt in a while. "What!? You little, this is just, gah!" Those words were spoken, and that description used lightly, as the pink haired girl devolved in an angrish language lost to time.

The thing managed an imitation of holding it's arms up in a placating fashion. "Now hold your horses and cool your heels little miss, I ain't gonna go blabbing to everyone in town, I promise. I understand this is something you wanted to keep between you and the doc. Well, ole Vic ain't gonna tell anybody in town!"

She didn't believe him. This monstrosity... she didn't trust nearly as far as it pieces could fly when she blew it up. It followed them out here, and now it was going to spread her secret! She very nearly raised her wand in a pure fit of rage when Mitchell roughly grabbed her shoulder, holding it.

"Louise, do you remember what we talked about this morning?" Mitchell said, giving her a stern look. A look one would give a parent scolding a child.

She... did unfortunately. Any action against this thing would definitely garner some sort of response from that House fellow. But that didn't change the fact that this thing knew about her. If it did manage to get back to House, then she was worried about his response regardless.

She bit her lip in anger. Why did this have to happen? Why couldn't things just go as planned? Dammit...

Sadly, she was forced to take a chance on something that might happen versus something that would happen. "If anyone else finds out about me before I'm ready to tell them, I will turn you into scrap heap myself." She said glaring into the thing's fake face.

"Fair trade by my book little miss. Liars deserve to be strung up by their feet, no matter flesh or metal. You got my word." The thing replied without a care in the world.

Only pausing for a few seconds the machine eventually turned around and began rolling back into town, Louise having the urge to blast that thing into pieces.

She was still reluctant about it, but she knew that she would just have to hold that thing to it's word. If she acted too rashly, then she without a doubt would doom herself.

But, if it came right down to it, a little more radee ashon would be worth it to get rid of that grating tone it had.

...

* * *

Not long after Victor left, both Mitchell and Louise walked back, along the way discussing some things. Mostly her just telling him some details about her home. Not the whole history of Halkegenia or even just Tristain, but just general information. It felt good, to finally tell someone just something about herself. Her true self. And it was quite something to explain the magical system to.. well a commoner. That and though he hadn't said much about it, she could tell he was just as rattled by Victor knowing about her as she was.

They had entered his house and walked into the living room. "So back in your home there was an entire group of people that could use… ah 'magic', but you couldn't?" He asked sitting down. The walk wasn't too long, but the older man looked winded. She could relate. Going over that terrain had made her legs wish they could stab her. She was sure of it.

She averted here eyes briefly. "Yes. I was Louise the Zero. The magicless girl." She bitterly said.

"You call slinging explosions without a grenade launcher magicless? That's more than anyone can do here."

She shook her head. "There is more to magic than just combat. Transmutation, base spells for all elements such as making candles that one can control at will, levitating heavy objects. And I couldn't do any of it."

"Well, you launched yourself into a new world little missy. You still like calling yourself a failure?"

She gave him a flat look. "Yes. The summoning rite was supposed to bring me an animal companion. Instead I end up on a world where I'm slowly dying due to an invisible poison because I'm more vulnerable to it. How exactly is this not a catastrophic failure?"

Mitchell had to admit, she had a fair point.

She closed her eyes. "And my family is probably worried sick about me. But it's my middle sister, Cattleya I'm most worried for. She was ill, and she must be taking this hard. I'm worried with all the stress she's probably going to have with me gone that her condition will get worse. I just… oh Founder why did this have to happen!?" The tears were already building at the first thought of her older sister, they burst completely again by thinking about her suffering.

"Yeah… she probably is. Which is why you need to stay calm and work with what you got."

"But-"

"Louise, do you remember what I told you this morning? How I was forced from _my_ home?" He told her getting her attention at least. She nodded, tears still dripping.

"I went through similar. People I knew and cared about started getting sick. House didn't offer much in the way of help, only helping some find jobs at bare minimum.I'll admit, I was pretty overwhelmed at the time. But I did what I could. I helped work out plans and even deal with the locals too help them get the medicine they needed." He sighed, his memories flashing in his eyes.

"I can't tell you how many times I wanted to break down. When I saw people begin to vomit. Some losing their hair, their skin. Some so far as their minds. But… I stayed the course. Had to deal with every new malady that came up. It took a good long while tending to all their needs, and mine, but I managed."

"My point is Louise, people are counting on you. Your family is counting on you getting back. It's not going to be easy, but it's something that has to be done. Now just take a deep breath, and put things into perspective. Are you really that much worse off?"

The speech and the intensity of the older mans gaze made her tears stop.

She calmed herself, and took a breath. She thought about her situation in detail, her mind categorizing over facts as if she were in school again.

"… I suppose the only thing that has changed is the time it will take. My magic is my only way home, but it also increases my radee ashon levels. It's still possible. It's just going to take much longer."

She paused, her shoulders sagging.

"…That isn't a more pleasant reality you know…"

"No one has ever said that reality is a pleasant mistress. Well, other than the people thoroughly detached from it. What you just said is the harsh truth of matter Louise. It's gonna take longer. A lot longer. But it's still possible, and still achievable. _That _is what you have to focus on."

She didn't say anything and only continued to stare at him.

"Now come on. We can have another meal to calm ourselves down in full and talk about the fine details. And what to do if House comes snooping around here." He got up and began walking towards the kitchen.

She stayed in her seat for a few moments longer, the events of the day rattling in her head. The revelations and recent speech being the most prominent.

She brought her head up, a determination in her eyes, got up and followed Mitchell into the kitchen.

...

* * *

**Well I apologize for being late. I've been putting work into an original book of mine and It kinda sapped my focus. Good news is, I have yet another new chapter for The Fall done as well! If we can get to it in a timely matter at least...**


	6. A Clean Face V

Louise once again found a piece of gecko meat before her, the aroma beckoning her, but she found herself not very interested in it, taking only a few bites here and there, no matter how much that smoky flavor beckoned her.

Her mind was still going over the recent revelations. Her magic and seemingly contamination by the poison of this world, Victor knowing about her, and most of all, House's actions. He was, for all intents and purposes, the king of the region. And one who ruled with a strict hand. She hadn't forgotten the story about how Mitchell was forced from his home all those years ago and it did not set a good precedent for how House might handle her.

She let out a barely audible whimper. Honestly, she feared him more than any creature she had seen or heard about on this world. At least beasts could be fought off and they didn't conspire. House however, was a ruler through and through and she was versed in what they had to do in order to make sure they and their kingdom survived.

Mitchell had been silent, the elderly doctor going over his own thoughts in the silence. There was a look of concern on his face, but it wasn't near the level of Louise's. But then, she knew the healer was no stranger to tough situations. The elderly doctor finally broke the silence that had hung over the room since they got back.

"Are you feeling a bit more calm now?"

She sighed. "As I can be. I just… I… this situation is just taxing."

"No kidding. Bad as it was for me I could always go back to the people I called family anytime. You… can't even imagine what it must be like for you. Hm… how old are you exactly? Just out of curiosity."

"I am sixteen. I would have turned seventeen in three months though." She said, wincing again at the memories.

He nodded. "Ah. I was twenty three when I was thrust out into the world. An adult at least. But you? You really are just a kid." He said, grimacing once again at how he thought that man taking her with him was a good idea. "But maybe that's just the sheltered Vault Dweller in me talking. People gotta grow up a lot faster in the wasteland. Well, regardless we need to come up with a game plan for you, specifically about your magic. We know it's your only chance at returning home, and that using it gives you radiation."

And we know Victor knows about it. And by extension, likely House." She listed off.

"Yep. But there's… the issue of your abilities. Listen, I know it might be difficult, but you probably should work your way to telling the people of Goodpsrings about it." The doctor said.

Louise went wide eyed at the suggestion. "Are you crazy? More than a few of them are already wary about me as I am right now. If I reveal I can cause explosions whenever I feel like it that would only give them more reason to be wary about me."

He nodded. "True. But those problems will be irrevocable if _Victor_ is the one to reveal your abilities. All those suspicions people have likely been having about you not having good intentions or otherwise potentially causing trouble would suddenly seem a lot more believable."

Louise didn't say anything, the truth of his words cut deep.

"I'm not saying you have to start with telling them outright, but you should try and be as approachable as you can and try to make nice with them. If it comes right down to it, how much people are willing to stand up for you will probably be the deciding factor if House decides to show some muscle."

"… But how?"

"Well… something you could try is the night watch."

"Night watch?"

"Yeah. What? You really think we _all _just curl up on our beds for the night? No, there's always some that patrol every night. Me being the exception on account of my leg, but even I can pull a chair on my hill and keep and an eye out. There's two shifts. Eight o clock to one, one to seven. If you volunteer yourself for one of those shifts, people would probably look on to you a bit kinder. They would see you doing something to keep them safe and less of a freeloader."

Louise was silent once again as she digested the information. Mitchell continued listing off the merits of the idea.

"More importantly, it'll give you a chance to actually talk to the people of Goodsprings, other than Trudy or Sunny. It's easy for them to write you off when you're just a faceless newcomer, but if you can win them over, show them that there's a person that truly needs help, they might think twice if House comes calling. Always felt that was Ringo's problem when he came here. Didn't bother to get to know anybody here." Well she still din't know who that Ringo was but what he said was true.

She couldn't deny the merits of it, and it certainly sounded like something she would have to take up. As long as she got to stay in town however she could suck it up. "That… might work. I'm not looking forward to staying up so late though."

He chuckled. "No one does. And don't forget hunting. You bring in some food from a hunting trip, and well, you know what they say about biting the hand that feeds you."

At the mention of hunting Louise bit her lip in nervousness. She had been fairly certain about that activity beforehand, but after hearing the giant monsters known as Cazadores she was having some serious second thoughts about it. "I… I don't know if I'm ready to go back out there. I don't even know how to shoot." She tried coming up with an excuse. Good thing it was true.

"Well, you should get to asking Sunny about that soon as well. Can't fall back on your magic without poisoning yourself so you need to expand your abilities pronto. You seemed a lot more accepting of it before. What changed?"

She shuddered at what she was about to bring up. "I found out about hunters. A trader came from the north road out of here and said that a swarm of the infested that way." She said, licking her lips slightly as she felt the words carry a slight Gallian origin to them.

"Cazadores? Ah… shit." Louise flinched when she heard the doctor swear. She may not have known him that long, but the image of the kindly old man who had taken her in didn't really lend it self to swear words,

"Damn wasps are nightmare. Sting is so painful all you can do is lie on the ground and scream. And hope your friends can kill them before they drag you off."

"Sorry. Didn't mean to be so morbid. Cazadores are not something anyone has the pleasure of forgetting." He said, visibly trying to shake the memories of the wasps away. It was uncomfortably reminiscent of the trader in the Saloon from the morning making her squirm slightly. However, the man seemed to have a subject on the tip of his tongue he wanted to get out, but whatever it was it seemed to be uncomfortable.

He seemed to be visibly hesitating, each word having an underlying uncertainty to it, his face holding a deep uncertainty for what he was going to say it seemed. "Now… Louise… there's something I've been thinking about, and you're probably going to call me crazy as you have every right to. But going over your situation again and again, it would be stupid not to bring it up."

He paused for a few more moments, the pinkette waiting for him to speak.

"If House does come for you, maybe you should go with him."

Silence dominated the area for many moments, the pink haired mage not blinking once as she eyed the doctor. "… what." She breathed out, her voice just barely above a whisper.

"Maybe you should go with House."

She shook her head. "No, no I heard you. But, you're right. You're crazy. Crazy!" She clenched her fists in anger, her eyes holding a sharp glare.

"Have you forgotten what he did to you? He kicked you out of your home just because you were in what he deemed his property! He let all of you waste away outside!"

"And he's also 200 years old." The doctor stated calmly.

At that the young mage's mind blanked, the internal ranting she had coming to a halt. Her mouth hung agape.

"W-what?" Was all she could muster.

"He's 200 years old. _At Least."_

She eyed the doctor for any signs of deceit or joking but there was none. Just the man looking intently at her. But that couldn't have been possille. Only Elves were known to live well beyond that.

She shook her head in disbelief. "But how!? How is that possible for a human? And how do you know?" She asked.

Mitchell chuckled. "Well for all of his greatness, House it seems has a bit of a braggart streak in him. He introduced himself as 'Robert Edwin House, founder and Ceo of RobCo industries.' Not in person mind you, but through one of those Securitrons. I'm not even sure the image used to represent himself was him or just an idealization. He probably forgot all about it. I know all of the others did. But then, we had other issues to worry about."

"RobCo?" She asked tilting her head.

"Company that specialized in robotics and computer technology, largest one in Pre War America. Which he founded. To make a long set of details very short, he's a brilliant man who founded the company responsible for much of the technology of the Old World. And he's still around. Speaking as a medical professional, that takes a serious amount of understanding biology and technology to accomplish."

"What does that have to do with anything?"She said demanding the point of that ludicrous suggestion.

"Didn't you just hear me? The man made himself live through the Great War and beyond. What I'm saying is, his understand og biology and technology might be able to help you get back home. He could help you stabilize your magic, get it working. He could easily supply you with all the Radaway, food and water that you could want. Heck, I might even wager he could help your body adjust to the wasteland."

She shook her head, tyring to come up with something, anything, to try and counter the points being made. "Why are you even suggesting this? How can endorse him after what he did? And how can you be sure he isn't just one of them that took on his image?"

"Well RobCo is responsible for the robots in the first place, so I doubt it's just an AI. I really don't a robot founded the company that built them, let alone allowed to run them. And I'm endorsing him because you living is my priority."

The last part made the mage go quite as she saw the serious look in his eyes.

"Whatever I may feel about the man, I'm not gonna throw away what he could offer at the expense of you. You deserve to know what your options are. I'm not denying that it might not be a perfect solution, but I'm not gonna downplay the benefits of it either. Especially if it increases your odds of surviving… and going home."

Louise said nothing, mulling over the idea a bit more seriously now. He had made some good points… but why would House even help her to begin with?

"What makes you think he would even want to help? What possible reason would he have to even consider helping me?"

At that Mitchell hesitated, his face hardening as if something foul had entered his nose. When he spoke, his voice carried a tone "Let me ask you a simple question Louise: Has your world been burned by nuclear fire?"

She understood in an instant, a jolt of understanding and fear lancing through her spine.

"No."

He nodded. "Exactly. Now, would it be really that out of the world to say that it's lush and green. Clean water, safer. Would It?"

"No…"

He nodded. "You understand. The potential to travel to a world with plants growing, a new chance? A chance to help the people of this world start over. Can you really deny how tempting that would be to House? Hell, to anyone?"

"It's not a perfect world. There's still wars between our people. And we have our own creatures to worry about." She tried objecting, but from just a few days she had been in here it seemed hollow even to her.

"Maybe. But it'll probably be a sight better than this one. And there's something I ever tell you what the war was about? Resources. The main powers of the Old World were getting desperate for any and all natural resources as the old reserves were tapped. Now, is your world like that?" He asked.

She gulped. "No."

He sighed. "Exactly. Make no mistake Louise, House would certainly have an agenda with you. But it would guarantee that he would follow through on helping you get home."

For another time today Louise was silent as the information she had been told was settling over her like a cold sheet of water.

"I won't make the decision for you, but I do want you to think about it. If you decide to stay here make sure you think about the night watch and learning how to shoot. Like I said earlier, If you want to stay, you need to win people over. One way or another, you're not getting anywhere without someone else's help."

Louise remained silent for some time after that.

...

After getting injected with another dose of Rad-X, Louise walked back to the Saloon for the evening group that would come in. There was the usual, by now, gossip about her hair, with some mentioning that they had heard about the odd pink haired girl in Goodpsrings and had wanted to come investigate. There was the usual stares, the tips from her supposed good looks. And she could feel the occasional 'gaze' on her. She felt a part of her bristle at that. It seemed that Trudy was right. There was people here for the sheer novelty that was Louise de la Valliere.

Louise for her part did what she did in the morning, but the thoughts in her head refused to go away. She had swept for a good while around the tables and entrance way, that damned sand and dirt taking some time to fully clean up. But the traffic had gone down considerably since she had left. Still left her a fair amount to do however.

It was when she was able to sit down and start wiping the wares again that she truly in earnest thought about what Mitchell had said about House.

She couldn't discount any of that if she were being honest. If the man truly was over two hundred years old, his knowledge should not be thrown away so easily. Granted, her magic was outside of this world if Mitchell were to be believed, which she did, but if House was truly as smart as he believed then understanding it may not take all that long.

And it was also true that he likely could supply her with enough medicine where it wouldn't be an issue. She could practice as long and often as she wanted. This event was unprecedented for her people so any timed devoted to understanding it would be invaluable however lengthy. And she knew it was going to be very _very _lengthy without his help.

All in all, she could see why Mitchell had at least brought it up. The positives were undeniably powerful for her and thinking about them did appeal to her.

But… when all was said and done, she still couldn't truly see herself going willingly to him if it came to force. Or even going to him period. Why?

She would be dragged into his problems. Simple as that. A ruler of a city? A king? She knew Founder damn well they had problems.

She had Henrietta confiding in her many, many nights about the responsibilities starting to overwhelm her even when she wasn't crowned yet to thank for that. Knowing that one day, wars, politics, the future of an entire kingdom resting on your shoulders. Henrietta often confided in her all of those things and more, and how much the prospect of shouldering those things terrified her. Squelching a pang of homesickness again, Louise knew that all of that and more would become her problems as well if she decided to go to House.

The main worry was the NCR. From what she had heard, they were an encroaching group from the west, presumably from a place called California. She only heard things about them so far, from both Lorcan and Trudy, and she felt it was only fair to reserve true judgment on them until she talked to them properly. What was an objective truth about them though, from what she had gathered, is that they were moving into the Mojave. Expanding their territory into places that are starting to give them trouble. Like a city controlled by a Mr. Robert House.

She hadn't found out much more about House, the man was a recluse through and through. But she did know is that encroaching on a kings, well, kingdom was not something that went unnoticed. Or uncontested. Much like Goodpsrings, she knew she would likely have to earn her keep, but exactly what that entailed worried her. Really, throwing yourself into a rulers lot created much more problems than people might have realized.

Then, there was that Legion, whom she had heard surprisingly little about. Not much, but everything about them was bad it seemed. Slavery, brutal tactics, and just as intent on expanding into the Mojave as the NCR. No one here had any actual contact with them though, so she couldn't say for certain what was true and what was fictitious.

In short, there was a conflict coming here. And trying to seek help from House would drag her into it head first. There simply was no way around it. War was coming here and she would likely be considered an asset. And the fact that she didn't even know precisely how worried her beyond belief.

Gah, stupid world trying to drag her into their problems…

She set down the dishes she cleaned. There was nothing more to be done at the moment, though her ears were perked for the door opening again. So she had a few more minutes to think.

And then… well, there was the fact that, assuming everything went well with House, that still meant she would be responsible for creating a potential gateway between their worlds. As desperate as she was, only a true and utter fool would ignore the consequences of such a feat. A gateway to another world? Who would ignore that?

Her world, heck just the continent, would be a very tempting thing. Especially considering the state of this one. A scorched world or a green one? Mitchell was right. House would take one look at her world and she knew that something would happen.

Though maybe not right away, and ironically, she may have the coming war to thank for that. One would do well to secure their borders before expanding them, though not the NCR apparently, but even she felt they would try to get a more solid footing here before moving on. But that still left her at whoever she sided with at their mercy when it was over.

And that wasn't even getting into if they found out about her noble heritage. Her family had close ties to the crown of Tristain, and she was the princess best friend. If they found out about it, she was not blind to the possibility of being used as a bargaining chip. And that wasn't even getting close to the topic of introducing two people of different worlds to one another. While she knew the mages of Tristain and all the kingdoms were formidable fighters and blessed by Brimir himself , she could not deny these advanced guns, and yet unseen technological aspects of this world, could spell a more long drawn out war. Which she would cause…

She closed her eyes and put her head in her hands. She just barely held back frustrated and agonized sobs. She just wanted to go home… but running off to the first person who could claim to help her do that would bring an unending amount of troubles at best. A political shitstorm, something despite being so vulgar Henrietta often said when younger, and conflict at worst. All because of her…

Oh Founder damn it… she felt tears forming again at the sheer weight of the situation nearly causing her to slam her head into the counter top.

"Woah! You're hair really _is_ pink!" Came a sudden exclamation, it's upbeat and excited tone not matching Louise mental state in the least.

The pink haired girl jumped, her eyes snapping to the source of the voice despite the slight sting they now had.

Peering over the counter was a young girl with sandy brown hair, a small rucksack hung over she shoulders and a large brimmed hat on her head. Her face has some freckles on it accentuating her blue eyes. Louise must have been too deep in her own thought to have hear the door opening.

Louise could almost swear that the girls eyes were sparkling. "I heard about it, but… wow…" The girl said, seemingly in a trance at the sight of the mage, making Louise uncomfortable. And rather annoyed at once again, her hair being the subject of conversation.

A sudden stomping of boots to the left heralded the arrival of a man in what looked to wearing a gray cap. His green colored coat clashing slightly with a grey set of trousers. "Dang it Dani don't go running off-" His words cut off when his eyes met Louise and she internally groaned.

*_Sigh* Go ahead… _She thought.

"… Huh, so everyone wasn't bullshitting me when they said a girl with pink hair was working at Goodpsrings…"

Ugh. Granted, while pink hair back home was somewhat rare, there was only one other family that she knew of that had it, she was already sick of comments about it.

"Still doesn't change the fact that you ran off on me Dani." The man said giving the girl a scolding look causing her to wince.

"Sorry…"

He sighed. "Just don't do it again. Ah, sorry about ignoring you miss. Little one here was hearing stories about you from the other traders from here. Kept hearing you had odd choice of hair color and Dani wanted to see if they were true."

She looked again at the girl, still smiling at her. She averted her eyes once Louise looked at her though. Despite the annoyance of her hair once again being the topic of conversation, she felt it dissipate much sooner than it usually did. "It's fine. Can I get you two anything? Drinks?"

"Oh, uh, not really. Not much for alcohol, and we already stocked up on water at the springs down the way. Could use some food though. I hear geckos are pretty common around here, but we haven't seen much. Fine by me, means the animals aren't moving onto the roads." He explained as both he and, what she presumed to be his daughter climbed into chairs, literally in the girls case.

She opened the odd contraption call a 'refridgoorator', The familiar sensation of cold seeping over her arms and she pulled out the meat. She set them both in front of the patrons.

"Ten caps in total." She listed off. The man reached into a pouch of some kind and pulled out what was owed.

Putting them underneath the counter, in what was called a 'cash regester". Founder damn it. She knew she was likely hearing them wrong but it wasn't her fault they were odd sounding anyway.

"… can I touch your hair?" The girl suddenly asked.

Louise blinked, not expecting that request in the slightest.

"What?"

The man gave her a scolding look. "Dani… sorry miss. Apparently passing by a town full of escaped convicts takes second place to odd hair color on the scale of interesting shit happening." He said reaching for a fork and knives.

She raised an eyebrow. "Wait, what? What town?"

"You didn't hear? Primm's been taken over by a gang of, what are they called? Powder Gangers? NCR is making sure they don't leave, but beyond that… I talked to them, and it sounded like they just don't have the manpower to take back the town. They can't get anyone to come help them with it, and all the townsfolk are holed up in a building. Don't know how long they've been like that, but I don't think anyone would be doing too well in that scenario."

Louise felt her jaw drop at the story. This NCR… how Founder damn incompetent were they? Letting prisoners revolt, then letting them roam the countryside, nearly sacking a town and taking over another one. If mother were here, she would cut the heads of every single one of those criminals, and then she would have dropped them in the NCR's lap and told them that would happen to them if she ever saw such idiocy again.

She made herself sad, and disturbed, at her thoughts, but it was true.

He took note of the look Louise had and nodded in agreement. "I know. They've dropped the ball so many times, it's made a hole big enough for everyone else to trip over. And that's coming from someone who lived there all his life. All over that stupid dam."

Dam? She heard only a few conversations about it on that 'rad ee oh' about that and she didn't pay much attention to them. But if it was the cause for the incompetence she was hearing about she had a bit more reason to be curious.

"Dam?" She asked tilting her head.

"Hoover Dam. A giant Pre War structure that supplies most of the electricity for Vegas, and some NCR territories. Not to mention the large reservoir of clean water itself. There was a battle for it between the Legion and NCR for it about four years ago. NCR won, but just barely. Legion's been waiting for another chance to take it from them and now it looks like they got their strength back." He shook his head.

"I know they can't let the Legion win, God knows that wouldn't end well for anybody. But if they can't even keep their own territory secure, they might not have much of anything left to defend anyway. You know I think-"

"Dad, you're rambling again." The girl said sighing.

"Gah. Sorry. I tend to do that where politics are concerned. I just wish the NCR would get their shit together."

"I hope they get their shit together too." The girl said. making Louise flinch slightly.

"Hey now, no fucking swearing." He sad smirking, not having any real authority over that order.

The girl just giggled as well, finally digging into her food.

Louise watched the byplay between them, once again. Her own mother didn't have a tolerance for swearing. But then, she knew these people were already more rough and tumble than the people she used to associate with. She would even be willing to wager that even the commoners would be a bit unused to their mannerisms. There was just a sense of of… ruggedness. A toughness that only this place could breed.

The two ate in her presence for a while before the man talked to her again.

"So… uh… that hair of yours… is it natural? I mean, natural as it can be?"

She resisted sighing, though with more effort. "Well… yes actually."

"Ha! Tod yu!" The girl exclaimed, mouth full of food.

"Heh, alright. Well as far as mutations go, you could do worse. Uh, no offense."

She didn't resist sighing this time. "..none taken. I just wish people would stop talking about it…"

"Well, in the sea of brown outside you might as be well one big pink buoy, miss…" He trailed off waiting for a response.

"Louise."

He nodded. "Harvey. This here is Dani."

"Hullo!" She said, her mouthful of food not muffling her enthusiasm.

As she did though, she couldn't help but notice that she was the first child she had seen since coming to this world. None of the others in Goodpsrings had children as far as she knew, she hadn't seen any running around, and none of the traders and merchants seemed to have any in their group. Though she figured it was likely that taking one on a trek across dangerous lands was a bad idea.

Harvey must have seen the look on her face.

He was the one who let out a sigh this time. "I know that look. 'Why am I taking a kid across the wasteland?' Don't worry, I get asked that a lot. I'm hoping to start a life in the Mojave with her. We had some… trouble back home. Trouble that meant we couldn't go back. And cost us someone close to us. I'd rather not talk about it if you don't mind." His face falling slightly, and even the girl looking a bit downcast for once. She had a pretty good guess as to what that meant.

Louise nodded.

"We got a solid supply of caps though. We're hoping to find somewhere to settle down and just get by. Thinking maybe Novac. I got some good years of work experience with caravans and that place sounds like that place is bit of a hotbed for them. A fair distance from Vegas to ensure travelers, a good scrap location and with the personal pull I get from the merchants traveling there, I think we can do alright." He said smiling before scowling.

"Just hope the roads haven't become too dangerous. I heard the north road out a here's been infested with Cazadores."

Louise nodded in confirmation. "Well, I haven't gone out of my way to check. But the man who claimed looked sure. Among other things." She said grimacing.

"Yeah. People said he disappeared, wasn't with any of the caravans or other traders." He said taking a bite of his teak as he did.

Really? Louise hadn't paid all that much more attention to the man after she had given him his drink.

"Regardless, it's crap like that will bite the NCR in the ass If they slack off. Hell, did you hear about the Axles?"

"Axles?" She asked, tilting her head slightly.

"Yeah. That's what they call themselves now. Mix of soldiers and mechanics from the NCRs mechanized division decided they wanted to go rogue for whatever reason. Stole a jeep with a plasma cannon on it and became one dangerous group of raiders. Me and Dani found out about them when we hit the Long 15 outpost. It had been attacked by them, a few smoking casualties from the NCR still lying around, melted metal and concrete from their plasma. We even heard they managed to catch someone and then dragged them behind their vehicle as they drove off. If we'd been just fifteen minutes earlier..." He shook his head.

"I may have come from the NCR territories, but I an't blind to it's faults. They need to start cracking down on that shit. If this keeps up, they won't even be able to keep fucking ants of the road. Wish Goddamn Morrigan was on it. He knows a thing or two about fighting miscreants like them."

Louise didn't say anything as she didn't have anything to add, she didn't even know who this Morrigan was. That and finding out now that ants were also big. Lovely.

"What about you? Where are you from?" The girl asked looking at her intently.

Louise resisted the urge to bite her lip. She doubted they would believe her true story, and she wasn't keen to providing truth for it anyway. But she did feel like should say something. These people were being friendly at least. She just wished she didn't have to lie to them. Well, thankfully, in a way, she didn't have to.

"Well, I'm from a place called Tristain. A place to the west of here. A place where people have colored hair like me."

"Really?" The girl leaned forward slightly.

Louise felt a grin tug at her lips as she began to humor the girl more. "Yes. Some had green, blue, white, even purple hair."

"Did you get those clothes from there? Those look damn fine. Wouldn't be interest in selling them, would you?"

Again with that!

"No. Sorry."

"Ah well. Just asking. Those look like they could fetch a good price. You don't see many clothes like that, usually only big wigs can get something that nice. Where is your home exactly?"

She bit her lip. Both in sadness, and nervousness. "I… I don't know. I was forced out of there. And sadly, I could not tell you where to find it. All I know it, it's somewhere west."

He nodded."Ah. I see. Was it tribals with a penchant for clothes making and weird hair colors, or Vault Dwellers they had stored up for their mutations? NCR expedition teams always said those things always had something else going on in them besides keeping people safe." He said, his expression souring considerably.

Well, they couldn't verify either one, but maybe she should stick with something a bit more truthful.

"She has a Pip Boy dad." The girl said pointing to her left arm.

"Oh..." He said, a sheepish tone in his voice. Well at knew for certain what story she should go with.

"Vault Dweller. It was a common thing. I was forced out not too and I'm still kinda adjusting. I'm not used to living like this. And I'm not used to the radiation either. I've been absorbing it since I don't have the resistance people on the outside have."

Before she knew it, a small bag of caps was on the counter for her.

Harvey just smiled at her. "Don't worry, I got more than enough for a tip. Just felt right helping someone who needs it. Have a feeling Radaway wouldn't be something that goes for cheap."

"I can give you some money too… if you let me touch your hair!" The girl piped up, eyeing the locks with glee.

That little... oh why not, she would be getting something out of it. "…fine." Louise leaned forward, her locks of pink hair coming into arms reach of the girl.

Surprisingly she was a bit hesitant to do so, but when she did the girls smiles was nearing the brightness of a sun.

"Woah! It's so soft!"

'Well, she's had access to regular showers and Pre War hair care products so I'm not surprised." Harvey pointed out.

The girl just giggled, letting the pink hair fall from her grasp. Just as she said she reached into her pocket and pulled out ten caps.

One some level, she supposed she should be feeling annoyed at this. Having her hair caressed like an animals and constantly being treated as a zoo attraction. Yet Louise found herself smiling at the events, gratitude drifting off her form. It was actually rather amusing and seeing the child smile She flashed both of them a grateful look. She knew this world was not kind, and that they had their own problems. They still helped her despite their own issues.

Louise, for the first time since arriving in this world was able to truly smile.

The girls face however suddenly had a confused look on it. "Hey... if you're from a Vault, why aren't you wearing a jumpsuit? Thought that was what they all wore?"

Uh...

...

Thankfully she was able to work something out. She explained it away by saying that her uniform was simply a part of her made up Vaults customs. And they bought it too. Honestly it foreboded just how odd the real Vaults were more than anything. It helped her at least though.

It was half an hour before the two set off, for Novac they said, and Louise had to once again sweep up all the dirt and sand that had been brought in by all the patrons after they too had set off for destination unknown. Trudy was behind the counter cleaning up the dishes. The sun was starting to turn orange in the sky, the dastardly burning beams seeping in through the windows slowly losing their power. The saloon now was devoid of any travelers and merchants, only the locals of Goodpsrings remaining inside.

There were still a few general things to do around the store when the locals of Goodsprings came in. Though irritated at having to another sweeping run, at least Trudy was taking care of their orders. But she did remember what Mitchell said. Even if they turned her down, she should make it clear that she intended to prove her worth. She was behind the wall int he back hearing them conversing with one another after the long day. She could pick out Sunny and Trudy's voice, but all the others were unknowns to her.

Though nervousness fluttered in her stomach, she knew it had to be done. She knew House was likely up to something regarding her and as Mitchell said, without the support of the town she stood no chance on her own.

Steeling herself, she turned the corner and began marching towards the group.

Or she would have if a brief flash of pain caused her to clutch her head. Oh Founder, where did this come from? Was she starting to catch an illness? Mitchell had said it would likely be a matter of when not if it happened. But she had made sure to boil her water...

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door opening, accompanied by a slight increase of pain in her head.

She heard Trudy speak to whoever had just entered. "Jodie!" Louise heard Trudy shout. A sudden sound of footsteps followed by what sounded like one of them embracing the other.

"God, am I glad to you see you. Everything I've been hearing about the roads getting bad again, the fucking Cazadores to the north of here. Just glad to see you again. How are you?"

"Fine." She heard the mysterious woman say. Another jab of pain thumped within her head.

"Well, come on, first few drinks are on me." Trudy said, the relief palpable in her voice.

"Ah, Forgive me... but I must use the restroom." She said, Louise could swear she felt her eyes on her position behind the wall.

"Oh, okay. Be back quick you hear?" The woman said something in the affirmative most likely, but Louise was distracted by yet another pain sensation in her head.

The footsteps grew louder near her position and before Louise knew it, a woman had round the corner and suddenly, Louise was face to face with 'Jodie'.

The woman wasn't extraordinarily tall, but the sudden uneasy feeling Louise got when she appeared, she may as well have been as tall as the damn saloon roof.. Not helped by the hooded jacket she wore. Her dark brown eyes staring at her, an expression blank, yet seemingly screaming gaping at her at the same time.

Her skin seemed unusually pale, at least compared to the general tanned skin of the wastelanders she had seen so far, and it didn't look like there appeared to be any sunburns.

When she spoke, however, the tone of her voice chilled Louise to her very soul.

"...you... what are you?"

"W-what?" Louise stammered out, backing away and clutching her head still. What in Founders name was this woman talking about?

She was still looking at her, her ice blue eyes"You… you are… different. Foreign. And…" She put a hand to her head and seemed to grimace in pain just before Louise did herself. She felt her breathing picking up, her heart rate increasing and her palms became sweaty. Whatever this was, whoever this woman was, she was frightening Louise very, very much.

"…there is something… off about you." Despite the situation Louise felt a hearty urge to snort. _You're one to talk!_

Suddenly she pulled back her hood, revealing an odd choice of headware. A red colored odd metal crown it seemed like, sat atop her head.

"… I must see. I must think." Was all she said before she removed the metal atop her head. The woman seemed to jolt in place, her eyes locking dead on with Louise's, the pink haired girl lets out a small strangled gasp as pain seemed to envelope her entire head.

The woman's eyes glazed slightly yet they did not lose their piercing edge.

"… you are not from here. Torn from your home and thrown in the sands, you attempt to find your way. A heritage being the only thing that will help you."

She wanted this to stop! She tried calling for help, but her voice it seemed did not want to cooperate.

"Thrown into the wild, by a war hero secretly fallen, people of all walks of life will find their way to you. Some with blood on their boots. Equally dangerous are the masks they carry."

Despite the pain, the words she spoke broke through it, making Louise stop her attempts to call for help and made the pinkette regard the woman with with the utmost attention.

"Friends with the chattering clown, the red eyes, an ember is lit."

"Fire is coming. The people you care about killed. An army marches. The War Hero seals two fates."

"Another fire will come. Fueled by rage, oiled by despair. An empire of void, the result. The Fate Changer will march." She said, pointing a finger at Louise.

"Forecast: Purification in progress."

With that the woman put her headgear back on, somehow the entire conversation going unnoticed by everyone else in the saloon, which was giving Louise no end of confusion. Surely that had to have heard that. The saloon was dead quite and yet no one seemed to bothered by the entire Founder damn conversation! Louise was still shaken by it, she had to brace herself against a wall.

But the woman looked far worse. Her eyes were wide, her whole body was sweaty and her legs seemed like they were ready to give out. She couldn't blame her. Louise was still in shock herself from from whatever just happened. Even speaking it seemed took more effort than usual.

"You shouldn't be here." Her words came out in a harsh whisper, the malice and fear nakedly apparent win them. Her eyes hardened, and she took on an aggressive stance.

Suddenly fearing for her own safety again, Louise backed away slightly, still just as confused as ever."What… what are you…" Louise tried to finished her sentence, but it was for naught. Something flashed in the woman's eyes, coinciding with a particularly sharp pain in her forehead and just as quickly as she barged into her, the woman suddenly took off running, the door of the saloon flying open as she flew outside, running off into the distance, the old man in the chair looking after with a bewildered look that rivaled Louise's.

Trudy poked her head outside the door after her, before turning and spotting Louise. She walked over, a look of intense concern on her face.

"Louise? What the hell happened? What the fuck did you do?" Trudy demeanded.

Louise backpedaled slightly, unsure of that herself.

...

Yeah, revealing that you can travel to a green world in fallout, is like painting a napalm target on your back and setting it alight in front of a heat seeking missile.

And what did that woman sense about Louise?

This as the last chapter I had ready. Hopefully I can get the next one out soon!

**Whelp, let this slip didn't I? I was going through a period of questioning weather or not I even wanted to write anymore and well, I do. I hope to have more regular updates now, even if they aren't all that much even here. I added in two, albeit small references to a man who will play a role so the twist incoming hopefully isn't as out of nowhere.**

**Oh and Happy New Year! **


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